白养你

"It wasn't worth raising you", a not uncommon saying from a Chinese mother to a child, it implies the weight and burden of being a provider and the expectation for the child to oblige in return for the favor. 

"It wasn't worth raising you", in the American context are powerful words, even possibly abusive in a culture where having food and shelter are a given, love and belonging is an expectation, and self esteem is the latest big thing we try to instill in our children.

This piece explores intergenerational trauma and perspective differences between immigrant parents and their first generation American children. It aims to broaden the understanding of minorities in America and to accelerate the healing of intergenerational trauma by recognizing the cultural differences and the ensuing identity battles that play within minorities. By placing a Chinese phrase in a Western styled mirror, the piece forces the viewer to examine the words within the context of Western culture with the Chinese words mirrored back onto their selves, similar to how an Asian American exists in the US with their family culture imprinted upon them while existing in an American environment.