A local artist has revealed their plans to ‘break down’ stereotypes of British East Asian people.
Dan Chan, 26, from Liverpool, a visual artist and drag performer, ‘pokes fun’ at stereotypes against the East Asian and queer communities by re-interpretating tropes to ‘show people they are constructed’ and need to be ousted from society.
Dan’s art aims to create safe spaces for marginalised groups after a wave of anti-Asian and anti-LGBT+ hate crimes.
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The Liverpudlian artist noticed a distinct lack of positive British East Asian representation from a young age.
Dan claimed stereotypes like those perpetuated by the ‘Yellow Peril’, which demonised East Asian people, and the ‘Lavender Scare’, which demonised LGBT+ people, are harmful to a person’s safety.
Dan told the ECHO : “Much of the representation we have relies on racial stereotypes which is problematic in so many ways for how we feel seen and how we're perceived, and this has a huge impact on how we go through the world.”
They added: “News outlets portray us as the cause of the coronavirus pandemic, which I see as a revival of the Yellow Peril stereotype that we've seen in history, with this growing since March 2020 there has been a huge spike in anti-Asian hate crimes across the globe.”
In 2021, advocacy group End the Virus of Racism reported a 300% increase in violence against Asian people in the United Kingdom. Elsewhere, Liverpool has seen a spate of homophobic attacks over the summer, with hate crimes in the region rising by a quarter from 2020 to 2021.
Dan’s mission is to make people feel safe through art.
Through digital work, textile work and drag performance inspired by movies like Alice in Wonderland and Labyrinth, Dan’s fantasy-like art unpicks gender, racial and queer stereotypes. By doing this, Dan hopes to create the representation they never saw as a child, so young queer British East Asian people can look up to public figures and role models like themselves.
They added: “A key goal is to create safe spaces within my artwork, whether this is done by providing people with joy in a visual artwork or through a more immersive approach that I bring with my drag performances.
“I would love to see more representation of queer Asian people in general and if I can provide that to the youth of this demographic then I feel like I've done my job as an artist.”
Dan is part of the QueerCore mentorship project spearheaded by Homotopia.
Homotopia is the UK’s longest running LGBT+ arts and culture festival. The event will return to Liverpool for 2021 from Thursday, October 28 until Sunday, November 14.
Dan’s art will be on display during the festival’s QueerCore showcase at the Liverpool Playhouse Studio on Friday, 12 November.
Dan said the festival has helped them develop as an artist, adding: “Everyone has been so helpful whether that's giving advice, sharing our own practices or just giving that sense of reassurance that we all need at times as artists”
They continued: “Every reaction I've had about my work has been so positive from queer people, other Asian people and allies which I'm super grateful for.”
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