"When Body Becomes an Exotic Vessel" delves into how the exotic gaze distorts cultural identity into mere simulations, reducing individuals to performative labor.
Docile Body?
鈥淢y body was deployed as a medium, radiating an aura of authenticity and offering a sense of exotic allure. Acknowledging the pre-existing exotic symbols and pleasurable patterns, I am compelled to contemplate whether it is within my power to manipulate perceptions and reclaim my agency through the act of self-exoticizing.鈥澛
Performative Labour?
As an Asian female expatriate living in the Netherlands, Hsin encounters how the exotic gaze聽decontextualizes culture into聽fragmented symbols, muddling the vulgar presence with spectacular fascination in one gloriously聽uncanny聽collage.聽聽
鈥淲hen Body Becomes an Exotic Vessel鈥溌燿elves into Hsin's personal experiences,聽exploring how the exotic gaze transforms cultural identity into simulations and reduces individuals to performative labor.聽Drawing on her identity and bodily experiences, she deconstructs the condescending curiosity embedded in the exotic gaze and repurposes these motifs as tools for her self-empowerment.