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Taylor Houlihan: Valley to the Empire

Valley to the Empire

Taylor Houlihan

My work brings out the “hybridity” between my Chinese heritage and my American upbringing as an adopted child through digitally fabricated artworks inspired by Chinese bronze mirrors. These objects blend traditional Chinese and American symbols with digital fabrication design. My project considers how the digital handmade alters what we consider to be craft and how it changes the meaning of the artwork being constructed.

This series aims to celebrate multifaceted heritage and beauty in multicultural narratives, while warding off negative perceptions that might blind-side us. As early as the Han Dynasty, Taoist monks wore bronze mirrors on their backs to ward off evil spirits. They believed that evil destroys itself on recognizing itself. These works are a visual representation of an my journey to finding my voice, reclaiming the stories of my heritage and past and infuse them into new objects to share.

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