Gaye Chan

"Chimera 18 of 43" (Grant), 2001 Pinpricks on color photograph 10"x 8"

"Chimera 37 of 43" (Nixon) 2001 pinpricks on color photograph 10"x 8"

"Chimera 1 of 43" (Washington), 2001 pinpricks on color photograph 10"x 8"

"Chimera 20 of 43" (Garfield) 2001 pinpricks on color photograph 10"x 8"

click the images above to view artist's work

From Webster's New World Dictionary

chim . ae . re, Chi . me . ra (kI - 'mir 'a) noun 1 a capitalized : a fire-breathing she-monster in Greek mythology having a lion's head, a goat's body, and a serpent's tail b : an imaginary monster compunded of incongruous parts

2 : an illusion or fabrication of the mind; especially : an illusion or fabrication of the mind; especially : an unrealizable dream < a fancy, a chimera in my brain, troubles me un my prayer -- John Donne>

3 : an individual, organ, or part consisting of tissues of diverse genetic constitution

We were tested for readiness.
mom, whonever showed interest in history
memorized names of presidents

with hands on hearts we swore to bear arms

barely speaking english,
we gave ourselves names of presidents
abraham fong
jackson fujimoto
truman sanchez

propelling selves and progeny into
a promise, riding on a sears
catalog american dream.
mistaking saftey for freedom.
opportunity for equality.

Historic Characters and Famous Events

I once bought a sake' cup at a second-hand store. I was intrigued by the glass marble-like thing that sat at its bottom. I poured some water in it when I got home. Somehow through the refraction of the marble and the liquid, a tiny image of a tiny naked Asian woman appeared at the bottom of the tiny cup. she was masturbating and she looked just like one of my mom's sisters.

A few years later, I used this sake' cup as a part of a mixed-media piece about booty. ot as in "shake your bootie" or "bootie-call", but as in plunder and spoils - spoils of colonial projects, spoils of vaction packages. Through the tea I poured in the tiny cup, the tiny naked woman appeared within the artwork as part of the booty. unexpectedly, during the second week of the month-long exhibition =, she began to fade. After the third week, when I came to refill the tea, she was completly gone. Who was she? Where did she go?

I become obsessed with her disappearence. I have looked for her in nuddie playing cards, online auctions, mail-order brides and porn websites,.... In another second-hand store I found an 1894 ten-volume set of books titled, "Historic Characters and Famous Events". I know I will find her in here.

Gaye Chan
1019 Kamahele St.
Kailua, HI 96734
tel: (808) 261-9874
email: cgchan@hawaii.edu>

Education

1982	San Francisco Art Institute, MFA Photography
1979	University of Hawai'i at Manoa BFA

Selected Exhibitions

Reviews & Publications