Gallery • 2 Photos

Claire Kim

CULTURAL CLOTHING CELEBRATION. Koua Mai Yang’s art, focused on the clothing of her Hmong heritage, is on display in Drake gallery. “These bits of pieces of history have greatly influenced by practice” said Yang.

From war to displacement, the history of the Hmong people resonates deeply in Minnesota, one of the locations the diaspora spread to. Hmong American artist Koua Mai Yang creates works centered around her identity within America, with a greater focus on invisibility, bicultural identity, and women’s experiences. Her current project Hnav HMoob (Wear HMong) continues her theme of identity by questioning culture, gender, and sexuality through the art form of ancestral Hmong clothing. Just from the name of the project, her focus on Hmong representation is clear.

Yang said, “HMong is used instead of Hmong to bring awareness and embody the two common dialects in the Western Hemisphere: HMoob dawb or white Hmong and Moob leeg or green Mong.”

As a completely visual gallery, Yang’s current exhibit consists of several walls covered in decorative chains and variations of traditional clothing hanging from the ceiling. The clothing pieces connect to both Yang’s personal history and the greater history of the Hmong people, representing her vision of what it means to be Hmong. “The velvet shirt in the gallery was from an outfit created by my grandmother for my mom,” she said. “I added scraps and adjusted the shirt, so it fits my body.”

Yang also combines many materials used in historical Hmong clothing to create her pieces, especially upcycled materials. “For the small shirt at the front of the exhibition space, I wanted to continue to work in tandem with the bright colors often found in our clothing and through camouflage printed fabric, I wanted to connect visually the invisibility of women’s and children’s experiences of the American War in Vietnam,” Yang said. In the nineteenth century, the Hmong diaspora spread from China to Laos, Vietnam, and Thailand; later, many Hmong migrated to countries such as the United States and France. Hmong artisans originating from different areas often use different elements of bright textiles, embroidery, and batik designs in traditional clothing, which is apparent in Yang’s work.

While the gallery may seem most representative of the struggles of the Hmong diaspora, it extends even beyond their history to Yang’s own experiences and visions. “Digging even deeper, I belong to a history of forced migration and displacement where my ancestors had to move from place to place, carrying only the most essential items,” she said. “These bits of pieces of history have greatly influenced my practice; one example is that I create art with materials that can expand and collapse and be easily stored.”

Yang hopes her project causes viewers to walk away with questions and curiosity about the experimentality of art. Yang will be on campus for an artist talk on Nov. 7 in the Driscoll Commons during X-period. Her exhibit will be in the Harry M. Drake gallery from Oct. 7 through Nov. 11.