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THE ART SCENE
JOURNEYS ACROSS THE CANVAS
Painting an Identity

HUNG LIU, JUDGEMENT OF PARIS 1992

by Lavina Melwani

  All Asian immigrants seem to have a little chink of their hearts missing. This is the piece left behind in their home country as they struggle in the brave new world of America, forging a new identity. Although all immigrants have a yearning for what they left behind, Asians seem to find it particularly hard to cut the umbilical cord, perhaps due to the strong family ties and sense of community in their countries. Again, their Asian faces do set them apart from Caucasian Americans, labeling them foreigners, aliens, interlopers. Their children can be born in this country, they can live in America for generations and still be asked: "Are you Chinese?" "Are you from Korea?" "Do people ride elephants in your country?"
  Years may pass, they may acquire green cards, Western names and attitudes and even a Western spouse; yet the home country has a power and a pull all its own, a magic hold on those who leave it or foreign shores, defying them to forget its enchanted siren song. It is what makes them different, and yet special. It can be their secret strength and also their Achilles heel, as they try to hold on to their culture and yet merge into the mainstream.
  While ordinary mortals may talk about their cross-cultural agonies, writers put in into words and artists often put on canvas the turmoil of their souls. Through brush and paint they try to make

LITTLE INDIA MARCH 1994

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