Red Hong Yi dedicates this work, made of fennel seeds, to Jonathan Mok, the Singaporean college student who was punched in the face in Oxford Street, London last month. 'I don’t want your Coronavirus in my country!' the attacker said before throwing Mok a punch. Photo: Red Hong Yi
The spate of anti-Asian sentiment and racist attacks stemming from ignorance about coronavirus have been making the news the world over – from a Singaporean student who was punched in London, a two-year-old Asian-American and her family in Texas, United States, who were stabbed, and another Singaporean student and friend hurt in a racist attack in Melbourne.
Such assaults against Asians are becoming frighteningly regular. Then you have a long list surrounding racial intimidation and blatant (or casual) xenophobia.
'I Am Not A Virus' series
Red Hong Yi dedicates this work, made of fennel seeds, to Jonathan Mok, the Singaporean college student who was punched in the face in Oxford Street, London last month. 'I don’t want your Coronavirus in my country!' the attacker said before throwing Mok a punch. Photo: Red Hong Yi
A portrait of Amanda Ngoc Nguyen, who is known for her civil rights activism for sexual assault survivors. "I admire her courage to speak out on the rise of anti-Asian racism that is happening during this climate, " says Red Hong Yi. Made of goji berries, this is part of Red's 'I Am Not A Virus' series. Photo: Red Hong Yi
'This one’s for the 51-year-old woman who was attacked and hit by an umbrella by three teenage girls at the Bronx. One of them yelled, 'You caused the Coronavirus!' The girls were arrested and charged. Just like how we have to act early to fight the spread of the virus, we must act early to fight the racism before it spreads further, ' says Red Hong Yi. This work is made of crushed eggshells. Photo: Red Hong Yi
Red Hong Yi creates a portrait of the two-year-old girl who was stabbed by a man who attempted to murder three Asian-American family members, thinking the family was Chinese and could infect people with the virus. This cake sprinkles piece is part of her 'I Am Not A Virus' series. Photo: Red Hong Yi
This artwork, made of black/purple rice, is dedicated to the 16-year-old Los Angeles student who was physically attacked in his middle school and accused of having the virus because of his ethnicity. Photo: Red Hong Yi
Apart from portraits, Red Hong Yi has also created PSA posters. Photo: Red Hong Yi
Red Hong Yi she has been using tea leaves, salt, coffee powder, rice, cake sprinkles, fennel seeds, goji berries and eggshells for her artworks in this series. Photo: Red Hong Yi
'I want to believe that most people are kind and understanding, and that racism exists in the minority. I have an international following and thought I could use my platform to speak out against this, ' says Red Hong Yi. Photo: David Yeow
