Jessica So REN Tang is a first generation Chinese-American embroidery artist. She attended art school in Seoul, Korea where she saw a student croquet herself into a cocoon. This was the main inspiration for her work. She began experimenting with different mediums but stuck by embroidery as it is the closest to her culture. 

 

 In her series “girls” she portrays how she has never felt Asian enough to be Asian not did she feel American enough to be American. 

 In this collection she embroidered traditional Chinese patterns into women’s bodies. This is her exploring her Asian roots with the patterns and exploring identity as an American woman. The feminine forms emphasise the femininity of the medium that embroidery is. She creates pieces of herself with each woman hoping to create a tangible imagine for her as an Asian-American. 

 Furthermore, she explores ideas that may be considered as vulgar in order to transcend borders and challenge norms. Her work is truly inspiring; especially to see how invested she is in her culture. She strives to connect us all and completely overcome cultural barriers. Her work feels fresh and empowering to all women, her projects are truly unique and a different approach to embroidery. To me it feels like she is enhancing women’s beauty and portraying what it is to be a woman of a certain culture. 

 Jessica So Ren Tang. (n.d.). Jessica So Ren Tang. [online] Available at: https://jessicasorentang.com/. 

 Accessed: 25th Nov 2023.