The immigrant, immortal woman from the island of Themyscira, "Wonder Woman" embodies iconic feminine strength in the DC comic series. As an Amazonian-American fictional heroine, she blends into a foreign society to promote justice, peace, and truth. When describing her essence in short form, DC states, “Torn between a mission to promote peace and her own warrior upbringing, Wonder Woman fights evil while hoping to unlock the potential of a humanity she doesn’t always understand.”
Correspondingly, many immigrant women artists of color evoke Wonder Woman-esque qualities in their contemporary artistic practices by addressing issues of immigration, misrepresentation, stereotypes, cultural conflict and feelings of acceptance or intolerance with an honest voice to fight for equality. Whether autobiographical or not, Wander Woman exhibiting artists' works present complex characters and narratives highlighting transcendent experiences, often derived from their own personal perspectives.
Wander Woman features works by Bay Area, first-generation immigrant women of color, who vary in professional backgrounds from emerging to established and have immigrated to the US from different parts of the world. Inspired by shared-yet-dissimilar psychological experiences of immigration and assimilation to the Bay Area, exhibiting artists present nuanced, intricate perspectives, and narratives that have developed beyond the initial concept of identity in their art practice.
Collectively, this exhibition explores complex identity politics such as diaspora, femininity, liminality, and power dynamics. Wander Woman presents a diverse range of artistic media: interactive art, installation, painting, performance, photography, print media, sculpture, and video — intending to transcend geographic boundaries. Living and working in and around the sanctuary city of San Francisco, each artist's work highlights the difficulties entangled with the complexity of individual identity in connection with an ambiance of sisterhood from fellow immigrant women of color and empathic support from allies.
In addition to the opening reception, Root Division will host a performance event during the closing evening on Saturday, February 9th from 7-10 pm.
Wander Woman is curated by Root Division Studio Alumni Artist, Rea Lynn de Guzman.
Exhibiting Artists
Indrani Ashe
Cynthia Brannvall
Irene Carvajal
Kristiana Chan
Erika Gomez Henao
Pantea Karimi
Baharak Khaleghi and Behnaz Khaleghi
Charmaine Koh
Amanda Lee
M.O.B. / Mail Order Brides
Takako Matoba
Anoushka Mirchandani
Elena Patino
Pallavi Sharma
HuiMeng Wang
