Chih Jou -Yolanda- Chiu. Academy of Art University. Selected Graduate 2017

Academy of Art University​, MFA, San Francisco, United States.


Using her exquisitely detailed self-portrait dolls to capture the essence of her narrative on familial and cultural struggles, she not only transcends cliché but is able to bring an unwavering and deeply meaningful sense of liberation to her work. An alchemical container holds a doll’s body parts, parts delicately sewn with red threads, some post-surgery and others being prepared for the beautification of plastic surgery. Then there is the mysterious, haunting doll as automaton giving hints of an interior life. Yolanda brings to all her work, and to all who view her work, a sense of contemplation, reflection, hidden relationships, and choices to be made. / Charlene Modena, Director, School of Jewelry & Metal Arts


Contrast I Conflicts I Contradictions​
My parents and I have been in conflict for a long time. This struggle originates from the stark contrast between my westernized thoughts and my parents’ traditional Chinese customs. I am eager for freedom, but my identity as an Asian female comes with restrictions. These circumstances led me to choose dolls as the theme of my MFA thesis. Dolls epitomize the owner’s control; the doll is an object that the “mother” can manipulate. The doll has no real identity but is at the mercy of this “mother.” I use this theme in my art to represent myself. In creating my own dolls, I regain authority over this process of identity construction, all while symbolically conveying the manipulation of the character.


More works and contact:
Website: http://www.yolandacstudio.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yolandacstudio
Email: yolandacstudio@gmail.com


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