Y. Kochiyama, 2020
Digital Video Painting, 2:00 min
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The Covid-19 pandemic created an excuse for vitriol, harassment, and xenophobia towards diaspora Asians which ultimately manifested as occasional violence in the false name of public health concerns. In the immediate panic from Covid-19, many diaspora Asians experienced having their personal identities removed - some from people closest to them. Transforming from close friends, friendly neighbors, or helpful teachers to simply a race and color, their familiarity to their acquaintances was obscured in favor of cultural stereotypes and prejudice. In this series, I obscured the faces of recognizable Asian Americans and filled their likeness instead with images of collective fears and stereotypes stemming from Covid-19.