Tall Grass XLR (G. Garden)

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This contemporary work combines the pop cultural image of a Gundam (Japanese piloted robot), blue and white ornamentation of Chinese ceramics, and lively forms of foliage to explore and present a new set of harmonies between man, machine, and nature. This work was originally exhibited in the Bud and Susie Rogers Garden at the Akron Art Museum as part of the exhibition 'The 10,000 Things: New Works' by Jordan Wong from 2021 to 2022. "The title of this work is a tongue-in-cheek reference to three giant robot TV series from when I was young: Megas XLR (American), Mobile Fighter G Gundam, and Gundam Wing (Japanese). The robot featured as the main figure is XXXG-01S2 Altron Gundam (Gundam Wing); it is no coincidence that I chose this specific model, as its pilot, Chang Wufei, is Chinese. The culmination of all these elements—a giant robot piloted by a Chinese person in a Japanese anime and the subtle nod to an American cartoon (about piloting giant robots)—perfectly represents the cultural harmony of my Asian American childhood. This is where my imagination blossoms from. Similar to my other works, iconography and text play an important role in expressing and exploring how to navigate, level up, and thrive in life. Shapes that overlap point to unity, antagonistic forces may be represented by flames, and arrows not only add to the visual movement, but also graphically offer ideas of guidance or possible paths. The Chinese characters for “bad/evil” (邪), “build/create” (造), “relax” (放松), and my mother’s name (娟娟) are reminders of life’s challenges as well as its nurturing gifts."