ALEXANDER SI IS A MULTIDISCIPLINARY ARTIST WHOSE PROJECTS SURVEY SUBJECTS IN AMERICAN POPULAR CULTURE THAT EXPOSE INVISIBLE LABOR, CLASS, AND RACIAL DISPARITY. SI HAS EXHIBITED WITH INSTITUTIONS AND GALLERIES LIKE SPACES, UNTITLED ART FAIR, HOME GALLERY, CUCHIFRITOS GALLERY + PROJECT SPACE, TUTU GALLERY, AND CHINATOWN SOUP. HIS EXHIBITIONS HAVE BEEN REVIEWED BY ART IN AMERICA, HYPERALLERGIC, THE BROOKLYN RAIL, BOMB, ARTNET, AND THE ART NEWSPAPER. HE HAS BEEN AN ARTIST-IN-RESIDENT AT INSTITUTIONS LIKE ABRONS ART CENTER, LOWER MANHATTAN CULTURAL COUNCIL, AND SPACES, AND HAS RECEIVED AWARDS FROM THE FOUNDATION OF CONTEMPORARY ARTS AND NEW YORK STATE COUNCIL ON THE ARTS IN CONJUNCTION WITH NEW YORK FOUNDATION FOR THE ARTS. SI HOLDS AN MFA DEGREE IN FINE ARTS AT THE SCHOOL OF VISUAL ARTS, AND TWO B.A.S WITH HONORS IN ARCHITECTURE AND MEDIA STUDIES AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO.
STUDIO PORTRAIT BY: DAIQI FAN
COURTESY OF ABRONS ART CENTER
MY MULTIDISCIPLINARY, PROJECT-BASED PRACTICE SURVEYS SUBJECTS IN AMERICAN POPULAR CULTURE THAT EXPOSE INVISIBLE LABOR, CLASS, AND RACIAL DISPARITY, AND THE LONG-TERM REPERCUSSIONS OF MEDIA AND TECHNOLOGY. I OFTEN BLEND MECHANICAL TRADE SKILLS LIKE CONSTRUCTION, FABRICATION, AND ELECTRICAL REPAIRS WITH STAGING AND PERFORMANCE TO RECREATE CONTEMPORARY TRENDS AND INTERNET FADS AS A WAY TO COMPREHEND, IMITATE, CAMOUFLAGE, AND INTEGRATE MYSELF INTO THE AMERICAN DREAM AS AN IMMIGRANT.
SUBSEQUENTLY, THE FUTILITY AND DISILLUSION OF EXACTLY REPLICATING OR FULLY PASSING, YET NEVER GIVING UP ON THE ASPIRATION MIRRORS THE GENERATIONS OF IMMIGRANT EXPERIENCE IN THIS COUNTRY. MY ATTEMPTS, WITH EACH PROJECT, ARE WAYS OF HONORING THE OFTEN OVERLOOKED HISTORY OF ASIAN AMERICAN IMMIGRANTS WHO HELPED BUILD THIS COUNTRY WITH THEIR BARE HANDS, EXTENDING THEIR LEGACY INTO THE PRESENT WITH CONTEMPORARY SUBJECTS, AND IMPRINTING OUR LABOR INTO THE FUTURE.