“NO DOLL” by Melissa Huang
Heads in a Bed
Oil on canvas, 36″ x 48″
Well, well, well… Whitespace Gallery displayed one of its most unique exhibitions, “No Doll” by Melissa Huang, under the most pinkish and vibrant colors on the canvases.
Melissa Huang is an Assistant Professor at the Art of Georgia Southern University, working as an interdisciplinary artist. Her video self-portraiture and glitch-inspired paintings explore the discord, failure, and longing of presenting an idealized self to a primarily digital audience. With recent solo exhibitions at the Albany Museum of Art, the Marietta Cobb Museum of Art, and Whitespace, Melissa has had both domestic and international exhibitions. Both New American Paintings and New Visionary Magazine have featured her artwork.
Huang stated that I investigate the desire, failure, and dissonance of projecting an idealized self to a real and digital audience in my glitch-inspired paintings and videos of myself. It's never been simpler to assume a perfect girl identity, but the emotional and physical roles that society expects women to play have never been more suitable.
Is there anything more truthful than this? With realization or non-realization, we all face this fact in our daily lives. Being or not being something. Beyond the reality of being women, there is always something more. It does not matter how many steps you took; you should have taken one more step. I think the point is that crying, worrying, or opposing sides are all part of us; we are not perfect and do not have to be perfect.
Melissa’s paintings highlight how each version of us is shaped in the minds of family, friends, coworkers, and strangers — yet none of these fragments fully represent who we are. Each of these components, in some way, works together to complete you. Huang says, according to Sartre, that we shape ourselves by observing others, being observed, and realizing that we are the object of "the look." Digital image modification and modern culture's obsession with perfection have made distinguishing between the idealized self and reality difficult, leaving an uncomfortable disconnect between our true selves and how we want to be seen. One more time, we remember and see that living with this fact is an immense pressure, and it is tough to put it down and return to ourselves.
Let’s look around the gallery and dive into the vibrant world of artworks. When you enter the gallery, “Doll House” says a big welcome. When you think it’s a dream Barbie house, before long, you will see the broken Melissa inside. When I watched this piece, I thought I had the same Barbie house and was having fun before I learned about being a doll, sorry woman. Also, “Doll Logic,” the artist’s self-portrait, explains her show title well. She creates a magical atmosphere with rich blues and pinkish purples, but she also serves as a reminder that such a dream isn't absolute.
Doll House
Oil on canvas, 53″ x 42″
That is why Huang used perfect pure China dolls or distorted self in her works, which is another reason because she is half Chinese. Her mom’s friends used to say to her, “Just like a doll,” which made her shy. She said that one day, I put my hands on my face and said, “No doll!” This is where her show's title came from. It has been a long story, I would say a lifetime story, and maybe her experience of being among women, and perfect. Without asking questions, we never know which event made us today’s self. It is so deep, but seeing these contemporary works with big canvases, vibrant oils, and such a visual feast is also good.
She also combines her digital and traditional works on “Body Cloud Thundering” and “BFF Bonfire” in this show. They were installed next to each other when the BFF Bonfire takes you inside the other dream doll house. In the upstairs, when the head is burning, downstairs, Huang plays with the doll, and at the same time, Huang is on the balcony, she is waving like everything is normal. Maybe it is not permanent, but something serious is happening here; if you do not fix it, it will burn. These are the words that came to my key. Now I am realizing how effective those pieces are. And how serious what she meant. Body Cloud Thundering gives you a feeling, like someone needs help or is experiencing pain. Next to BFF Bonfire, Body Cloud Thundering irrigates the grasses. Hands are moving with the rain. In my opinion, Melissa did an excellent job expressing her feelings. She forced us to stop and reflect again as she fearlessly stood in front of her audience.
(“BFF Bonfire” Video link: https://vimeo.com/1093212265,
“Body Cloud Thundering” Video link: https://vimeo.com/900635965 )
The No Doll show by Melissa Huang is like entering a dream decorated with pinkish purples and blues, only to discover that it is not what it looks. Her work remains in our thoughts, raising issues related to reality, identity, and our own delusions. I look positive in this show, and I invite you to see and think from the positive side, which is amazing to see in the mirror ourselves after we embrace ourselves and everything and everyone. Even though it feels bad or seems complicated, the consequences are going to be visionary. And tunes out to an amazing art show. Thank you, Melissa.
Doll Logic
Oil on canvas, 20″ x 16″
