Parts of my identity are embedded in the pieces I created, not a portrait, but a sense of my fragmented existence.

Kristi Chen's multi-disciplinary practice weaves together narratives of migration, intergenerational knowledge, and cultural adaptation. Through her works, she explores the complexities of her ancestral history, connecting it with her own diasporic experience. Raised across diverse regions—Singapore, the United States, Canada, and Hong Kong—her practice reflects the influence of constant movement and the interplay between traditional cultural practices and the modern world.

At its core, Chen’s work engages with the agricultural and artistic traditions passed down from her ancestors. She draws inspiration from familial stories of harvesting and cultivation, incorporating elements of natural materials such as basketry, incense and wood in relationship to industrial materials like metal, rubber and plastic. These traditional crafts are reimagined in a contemporary context by creating sculptures that reflect the fragility and resilience of the current diasporic experience.

Her experience alternating between living in tropical to temperate climates emphasizes themes of endurance, migration, and adaptation. As her medium, sculptures and experiences evolve over time, she finds herself intertwined with the oral narratives of her familial past. By exploring lost knowledge and integrating it with contemporary methodologies, Chen's work challenges traditional notions of craftsmanship and materiality while alluding to her forebears, who were farmers, artisans, and survivors.

CV