Narratives & Counter Narratives

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An East Asian woman pulls out the tongue from the mouth of a life-sized, silicone love doll. They both have the same haircut of long black hair and a blunt fringe.

Film still from Narratives & Counter Narratives, featuring the artist's own footage. Glasgow, 2022

A film still featuring an Asian woman with long black hair and a miniskirt approaching two soldiers sitting on the side of the street. The caption reads 'Me love you long time'.

Film still from Narratives & Counter Narratives, featuring a scene from the 1987 film Full Metal Jacket, with Ngoc Le & directed by Stanley Kubrick.

An Asian woman with bare shoulders pulls the skin off from under her eye, revealing chrome metal underneath. She's looking at a man who is not visible in the frame.

Film still from Narratives & Counter Narratives, featuring a scene from the 2014 film Ex Machina, with Sonoya Mizuno & directed by Alex Garland.

An Asian woman lies on the ground, making intense eye contact with the camera. The caption reads 'Shoot... me...'

Film still from Narratives & Counter Narratives, featuring a scene from the 1987 film Full Metal Jacket, directed by Stanley Kubrick.

A black and white film still featuring an Asian woman holding a knife, and a white woman behind her speaking into her ear. The caption reads 'Don't do anything foolish'.

Film still from Narratives & Counter Narratives, featuring a scene from the 1932 film Shanghai Express, with Anna May Wong & directed by Josef Von Sternberg.

A selection of film stills from Narratives & Counter Narratives (2022)

Installation view of Narratives & Counter Narratives in a darkened room, next to a photographic print of two figures.

Installation view of Narratives & Counter Narratives, next to the MILFSters (2023), in the 2024 group exhibition Working Girls! curated by Mathilde Friis. Gallery 46 Whitechapel, London. Image by Gallery42 Whitechapel

Installation view of Narratives & Counter Narratives in the 2024 group exhibition Working Girls! curated by Mathilde Friis. Gallery 46 Whitechapel, London. Image by Gallery42 Whitechapel

An East Asian woman is seemingly kissing a life-sized, silicone love doll. They both have the same haircut of long black hair and a blunt fringe.

Film still from Narratives & Counter Narratives, featuring the artist's own footage. Glasgow, 2022

Narratives & Counter Narratives will be screened at Sex Work: A Cultural History, at the Bundeskunsthalle. April - Oct 2026, Bonn, Germany.

Narratives & Counter Narratives is a moving image work that collages original and found footage from 1905 to 2022, depicting Asian women in popular culture. Snippets include Puccini's Madama Butterfly (1905) in Frédéric Mitterrand's 1995 film adaptation with Ying Huang; Shanghai Express (1932) with Anna May Wong, directed by Josef Von Sternberg; Chanel Miller reading her victim impact statement, uploaded in 2019; Annabel Chong's 5-1-95 daytime TV appearance, uploaded in 2019; Alex Garland's Ex Machina (2014) with Sonoya Mizuno; Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket (1987) with Ngoc Le; and surveillance footage that shows the 2021 Atlanta shooting suspect leaving a massage parlour.

The victims were: Delaina Ashley Yaun, Xiaojie Tan, Daoyou Feng, Paul Andre Michels, Hyun Jung Grant, Suncha Kim, Soon Chung Park, and Yong Ae Yue.

Narratives & Counter Narratives is available to view on request

Commissioned by Cabbage Arts via the Cabbage Resilience Programme
& Supported by Creative Scotland
Featuring the song Darkest Hour by Sevdaliza
with sound edits by Hannan Jones
Premiered 2022 in duo show Skin Flickswith MV Brown
French Street Studios // Strangefield Glasgow



Narratives & Counter Narratives have been screened at:

  • Floating in Ecosystems w/ Queer East, curated by Indigo Korres, at Rio Cinema. May 2025, London
  • SQIFF (Scottish Queer International Festival), at the Centre for Contemporary Art. October 2024, Glasgow
  • Working Girls! Curated by Mathilde Friis, at Gallery 46 Whitechapel. July - August 2024, London
  • (S)exhibition at the Museum of Sex Objects. April - May 2024, London

moving image
9min 9sec
glasgow, 2022