Hand In Glove

Artist Statement

Rice, a symbol of prosperity, embellishes a long, black mesh glove and speaks to the inherited legacy of anti-Blackness within the AAPI community, specifically the East Asian diaspora. The wearing of long gloves is a common practice amongst East Asian women to preserve their fair skin and desirability, which ultimately helps them secure and maintain financial wealth and social prestige. While this beauty ritual reinforces racist cultural standards, it is also symbolic of the Asian American approach to self-preservation and the tangible socio-economic benefits of anti-Blackness and political abstention.

The phrase "hand in glove" is a dated expression that refers to being in collusion with the enemy or having a working agreement with the police.

Lili'uolani Nakiaha-Kahalahoe (she / they)

Lili'uolani is a non-binary Kanaka Maoli artist and designer currently living on occupied Tongva land. Her work explores the natural contradictions and relentless complexities of multidimensional identity and how polarity manifests the tension necessary to ignite desire and a (k)new reality. As the daughter of a seamstress and Hawai'ian nationalist, her mother was her first collaborator and creative mentor. From an early age, Lili'uolani has employed technology, fashion, jewelry, textiles and other materials as tools to craft objects that iterate on tradition and venerate her ancestors.