Artist Statement for ORAL FIXATION

Phase one of my psychosexual development installation denotes my oral fixation obsession. To me the mouth is the first passage into the depths of intimacy and the most accessible. It is also the largest representation of who I am, how I feel and what I need. I live through my mouth, talking, biting, sucking and swallowing. I use it as a way to express affection, inflict pain and ensure pleasure. My mouth, lips and tongue are the means to my inside.

This entire installation is about oral and social cravings, the desire to feed our mouths and to gratify ourselves. The herbs, fruits and vegetables placed in the individual’s mouth represent sexual awakening, the start of an appetite. Because the objects are not entirely inserted into the mouths they only act as a momentary medicine to reduce tension and provide minimally nourishing stimulants. It is also used to block the individual’s mouth to insure the elimination of any discourse.

The main installation consists of only Chinese females who are defiant to stereotypical Asian submissive women, social rules, repressed needs and oppression. They are, essentially, representations of me, yet I purposely did not use myself as a subject for this particular installation because phase one of my oral fixations is not about a mirrored image of the self, it’s about my relationship within the world. These women are my friends and blood relatives. I know each of them personally. They are strong-willed, nontraditional, not conservative, nor are they afraid to address socially unspeakable topics and stubbornly do not believe sex is only for the purpose of bearing children like most older traditional Chinese women. This is the first contemporary series I’ve created and perhaps the most personal. The smaller installations were preliminaries to the main installation.

-Karen Hsiao