Two Open Mouths by Karen Lue

Issue 180

Two Open Mouths features selections from an ongoing body of work that explores my identities as a queer, second-generation Chinese American woman, and how these identities are performed through my chronically ill body. In August 2021, I was officially diagnosed through surgery with endometriosis after years of symptoms. The impact of this chronic illness has forced me to have a different relationship with my physical body, which is not only heavily racialized and sexualized but at times feels like a hostile host. I seek to perform for myself in front of the camera, experimenting with different ways in which I can portray these identities through objects, clothing, and scenery while manipulating my body in uncomfortable poses and environments. Through challenging the limits of my body, I am regaining autonomy and creating a dialogue between myself, the camera, and the future viewer.

Made on a 4x5 view camera, the process of shooting these images is inherent to the act of performance in this work. In making these photographs, I am continually engaging in repetition—in the physical steps needed to take the picture; in reusing the same objects and clothing; and in posing, reposing, and reframing my body. Utilizing techniques such as multiple exposures allow me to further manipulate and choreograph the composition.

I invite the viewer to question the notion of a body’s performance, both as an act of staging and as the process of operating or executing a necessary function.

Karen Lue (she/her) lives and works in Pittsburgh, PA.
karenlue.com| @wh0pper_jr