INVISIBLE HANDS / VISIBLE HANDS

Invisible Hands / Visible Hands_2017_1:21 minutes_Performance on recorded video

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I began the project INVISIBLE HANDS / VISIBLE HANDS with a video in 2017. I draw upon the metaphor of ‘invisible hands,’ initially coined by Adam Smith in his book ‘The Wealth of Nations’ to describe unobservable market forces. In my work, I repurpose this metaphor to symbolize the concealed ideologies that compel women to conform to ideal beauty standards within consumerism and marketing, from television advertisements to posters in elevators within apartments and shopping malls in mainland China.

These ‘invisible hands,’ representing ideologies, manifest as ‘visible hands,’ belonging to women themselves, surgeons, or anyone involved in physically altering women’s appearances. The once-hidden societal ideals of female beauty materialize as visible impulses driving changes in women’s bodies.

In late 2023, I reviewed this project and recognized the invisible hands as a metaphor for ideologies that extend beyond cosmetic surgery. I continued this series and further developed it with a group of oil paintings as an extension of the video. The metaphor in these paintings embodies the pain inflicted by patriarchal ideals of the “ideal” female. We have been told that we are not good enough and that we have not done well. Women are driven to desperate measures in their attempts to conform to unrealistic expectations. We’ve been instructed that we need patriarchal guidance to improve ourselves. Women have experienced immense pain, both physically and mentally.