Hope Not Hate
Christine Wang
Area: Graphic Design
Christine Wang
Thesis Statement
Christine Wang is fundamentally interested in design’s ability to highlight issues or ideas even as it allows for deep collaborative relationships in creation. The fertile alliance that can grow as an artist works to communicate the aesthetic needs of others is one of the aspects of Wang’s work that grew over her time at IU. For her final exhibition, Wang, anxious and angry about the growing violence against Asian Americans as the pandemic continued to flourish, decided to pair with an organization that works with Asian American and Pacific Islander communities (AAPI) to find a way to highlight this violence, as well as its effect on the community.
This alliance was a powerful one for Wang, who created a new series of works to highlight the situation of people suffering under fear of being attacked as a result of xenophobic beliefs and widespread misinformation. Wang brought the knowledge that she’s gained as a seasoned traveler – considering how cultural relevance shifts from place to place – to bear as she created a design that can appeal to a wide range of viewers even as it delivers the message that she wants to embed. The poster designs she’s created for the exhibition can be displayed in the gallery but could also move to the street to continue to press for social justice in response to our current situation; powerful messages that are also portable.