Chen, Pamela

This mixed media illustration, "Misfortune Cookies", uses the paper fortunes protruding from the iconic Americanized idea of Chinese food to voice negative commentary. The negativity can be interpreted as personal inner monologue of self-deprecating messages, or as coming from the creator being directed at the audience, or from the viewer directed back at themselves. As food is strongly tied to family and culture, the fortune cookies represent Asian adaptability through a lens of "otherness".

Pamela Chen is a first generation Chinese-Canadian illustrator based in Vancouver, Canada with a BFA in Visual Arts. She is enthralled by botanical and scientific illustrations, as well as tattoo culture and flash. Her work often combines unusual and surreal elements in order to push one's perceptions and expectations, as well as address cultural appropriation and lack of representation in art.