Dystopia

The red screen print is of Rocky Rivera, a Bay Area Filipinix-American rap artist who confronts patriarchy, misogyny, and colonialism. The blue screen print which represents utopia pictures Rocky Rivera and Bamba Depistola and their family. Home is where the heart is. Home is utopia. Dystopia is a wreckage created by the current administration that disrupts familial utopia and peace with its anti-immigrant and hateful policies. Phung Huynh's diptych was created in part of the 'Utopia/Dystopia' portfolio, curated by artist Miyo Stevens-Gandara. Miyo invited 26 artists to each pick two cards from a full deck, incorporating a diverse range of interpretations and ideas into a single, unified collection. Here, Huynh uses depicts Rocky Rivera, a Bay Area Fillipinx-American rap artist who confronts patriarchy, misogyny, and colonialism. Because she believes that home is where the heart is and home is a utopia, dystopia is then the wreckage created by the current administration that disrupts families with its anti-immigrant and hateful policies. Understanding the diversity that defines Los Angeles, Huynh's work explores how different perceptions of certain communities result in the ranging interpretations and misinterpretations of cultures. In approaching her work, she investigates how these understandings can be imposed and redefined in other environments. Particularly, she utilizes a "Chinatown aesthetic" in order to convey how racial authenticity is affected by the forces of exoticism for consumerism.