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I Take Care of You and Survive

Wave Pool Gallery (Cincinnati, OH)
Mar 30 - Apr 27, 2024

Mar 30  opening performance
Ap 27 massage workshop

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나는 너를 보살피고 살아남지

웨이브풀 갤러리 (신시내티, 오하이오)
2024년 3월 30일 - 4월 27일

3월 30일 오프닝 퍼포먼스
4월 27일 마사지 워크샵


In her exhibition, I Take Care of You and Survive, ASYS Resident, Okyoung Noh explores how workers of color maintain, repair, or support other bodies within their communities.  She invites audiences to consider, how do we reciprocally survive by exchanging physically intimate, transformative, yet demanding care offered by laborers of Asian descent? How can we access and honor the narratives of migrant workers, who are so often silenced, overlooked, stigmatized, or even exploited under socio-cultural, racial, and gendered hierarchies?

The exhibition I Take Care of You and Survive will transform Wave Pool’s gallery into a participatory stage and a mock massage parlor, adorned with LED signs, vibrant curtains, and colorful lighting. These elements borrow from the aesthetics of the shops and businesses that serve as inspiration for this project. The installation is designed to lead audiences to enter a closed space and witness the stories of Asian caregiving workers. These stories are collected through interviews with massage therapists, nail artists, and hairdressers of Asian descent working in Greater Cincinnati and Noh’s current residence of Washtenaw County, Michigan.

Noh’s show both gathers and honors the omitted narratives of Asian labor, which vividly haunt those spaces. The artist’s collected stories of attentiveness and consideration are unfolded throughout the exhibition, with respect and care for those doing this work.







Opening Performance
I gave a massage to 5 voluntary audiences using the massage techniques that I learned from my interviewees


오프닝 퍼포먼스
전시 관람객 중 5명의 지원자에게, 작가가 인터뷰이에게 배웠던 다양한 기술을 활용하여 직접 마사지를 하는 퍼포먼스








Official Collaborators:
- GG Massage, Lisa G Wang (Cincinnati, OH)
- Spanky's Barber Shop, Ricky Han (Covington, KY)
- Acupressure Massage and Reflexology (Canton, MI)
- Jolis Cheveux by Nick Koo (Ann Arbor, MI)
- Horang Nails (Novi, MI)

Videographer: Okyoung Noh, Ben Zink, Luis Reyes, Craig Fishbein
Performer: Ana Hart, Okyoung Noh
Project Assistant: Yuchen Wu
Installation Assistant: Do Young Kim.
Poster Designer: Elliot Myers
Exhibition Photographer: Elliot Myers