Angie Hsu
Unearthing Justice
Artist Statement
Before this project, I had a very basic understanding of the flaws of our current incarceration system and no sense of how prevalent pretrial detention is — or how much it contributes to the entire system, further exacerbating institutional racism and the oppression of Black and brown communities.
So I set out on a path of discovery for myself, then created pieces to guide viewers through a similar learning process. The resulting body of work utilizes ceramics as a medium for making statistics more easily understood via physical forms. As part of my process, I strived to create functional and aesthetic pieces that would still carry a significant message about one of the most harmful parts of our society. Beyond exhibiting these pieces, my hope is that they will eventually end up on someone’s table — helping to integrate awareness of mass correctional control into people’s daily lives, so they can easily discuss these issues with family and friends.
Biography
Angie Hsu is a ceramic artist who lives and works on a 5-acre property in southern Ohio. After working for human rights NGOs for more than a decade, Angie now strives to use her art as a means of bringing attention to pressing issues of social injustice. She believes deeply in art as a means of raising awareness and making personal and political statements. Follow Angie on Instagram @overlapcraft.