ASYA Artist Residency
I Take Care of You and Survive
Okyoung Noh’s solo exhibiitonWave Pool Gallery
Cincinnati, OH
Mar 30 - Apr 27, 2024
Mar 30 Opening Performance
Ap 27 Workshop: Care and Survive
ASYA 작가 레지던시
나는 너를 보살피고 살아남지
노오경 개인전
웨이브풀 갤러리
신시내티, 미국 오하이오
2024년 3월 30일 - 4월 27일
3월 30일 오프닝 퍼포먼스
4월 27일 워크샵: 보살피고 살아남기
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.
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.
Exhibition Statement (PDF, ENG) ︎︎︎
Gallery Website ︎︎︎
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
- 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
Opening Performance
I gave a massage to 5 voluntary audiences using the massage techniques that I learned from my interviewees오프닝 퍼포먼스
전시 관람객 중 5명의 지원자에게, 작가가 인터뷰이에게 배웠던 다양한 기술을 활용하여 직접 마사지를 하는 퍼포먼스
Public Workshop: Care and Survive
Led by a Chinese massage therapist, Lisa Wang, based in Cincinnati©2024 Okyoung Noh All rights reserved