Hate against people of Asian American and Pacific Islander identities rose during the COVID-19 pandemic, taking form in a multitude of ways. Interested in this topic, Korean American artist Julia Kwon depicts AAPI statistics through bojagi (Korean wrapping cloths).
In this textile graph, she takes yellow strips of fabric to represent graph bars and places them over intricate traditional patchwork to comment on AAPI hate from March 2020 through December 2021—raising awareness through her cultural roots.
Kwon's work is on view in "Hallyu! The Korean Wave," as part of a section exploring the Korean American experience.
🧵: Julia Kwon, "Different Types of AAPI Discrimination in the United States (The Stop AAPI Hate’s National Report from March 2020 through December 2021 resulted in: Harassment 66.9%, Physical assault 16.2%, Avoidance or shunning 16.1%, Online 8.6%, Coughed at or spat upon 8.2%, Job discrimination/hostile work environment 5.9%, Graffiti, vandalism, robbery, or theft 4.4%, Denial of service 4.2%, and Barred from transportation 1.1%)," 2023. Korean silk, sewn in the format of Korean object-wrapping cloth called bojagi.
"Hallyu! The Korean Wave" is created by Victoria and Albert Museum—touring the world. Sponsored by Hyundai Motor Company (현대자동차).
Love this… This is the kind of #inclusivity that we need to see more of globally! Kudos to Museum of Fine Arts, Boston for this #SocialJustice initiative!