Dear Diary, By Susan Lee-Chun

Dear Diary, a work by Susan Lee-Chun

Rewind to a few months ago when it became clear that social distancing and safety precautions caused by COVID-19 would require a different approach to sharing artist stories. With this in mind, we asked Susan Lee-Chun, Korean-American and Miami-based artist, to journal about her experience and creative practice in quarantine.

Susan’s words and her choice of images were compiled in late-April, as the coronavirus fueled anti-Asian racism and xenophobia. And while her work explores race, identity and pop culture, it’s also important to note that the segment was produced before the killing of George Floyd. 

Anti-racism has always been urgent, and today, we face a global pandemic, climate injustice, an economic crisis, peak user-generated content, and the halt of sports and social activity but not of police violence—a halt that is giving several mainstream audiences the pause and time to wake up to the longstanding and ongoing terror of white supremacy. 

Susan aims to create work that will provoke a conversation. As an intersectional community, this is one of many conversations we need to have.