Oriental Express is a pseudo restaurant that examines how Asian foods, cultures, and identities are often viewed through a Western lens that paints them as foreign, exotic entities. Constructed around the theories of “eating the other” and Orientalism, print media within the space mimics this lens and reappropriates the visual language of an Asian American restaurant to critique issues such as stereotypes, exoticism, and cultural commodification. The installation encourages viewers to decolonize their understanding of the Asian diaspora and look beyond the superficial portraits being fed to them.
