Jihee Min’s Once Upon Camellia Blossoms focused on raising awareness for the growing tendency of fetishizing Asian females in the North American media. The gallery space was filled with 104 exaggerated silky camellia blossoms. The artist was present in the space, wearing a long, exaggerated wig. On the opening night, viewers were invited to fold origami flowers, based on a pattern on the wall, and pin them on the artist’s wig. Folding papers provided were commercial images of sexualized Asian females.

On the day following the opening night, Min walked down the streets of Kelowna wearing the wig that has been decorated with origami blossoms. Strolling toward the Okanagan Lake, she transplanted these flowers at random spots on the streets. At the shore of the lake, the final camellia remaining on the wig was unfolded and made into a paper boat. This single paper boat then floated away as a symbol of hope. 

Jihee Min is a Korean-Canadian multidisciplinary artist based in Tkaronto/Toronto. Her practice employs narrative strategies and autobiographical experiences to explore the notion of identity and cultural displacement, in a wide range of media, such as sculpture, installation, performance, video, photography and drawing. 

Min holds MFA from Concordia University (2008) and BFA with Honours from OCAD University (2005). She has received various grants from Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, and Toronto Arts Council, as well as, numerous awards and scholarships including the Concordia MFA Studio Arts Award from Concordia University; the Sir Edmund Walker Scholarship and the Carmen Lamanna Scholarship from OCAD University. She has exhibited nationally across Canada and internationally, in the USA, Italy, Finland and Korea. Her work is part of various private and public collections including the city of Toronto (ON), St-Bruno (QC), and Rauma (Finland).

To learn more about Min and her current work, visit her website.