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Student Narrative
The F* Words: Food, Fermentation, and Feminism is a visual exploration of fermentation as both a biological process and a symbolic framework. Inspired by the transformative nature of fermentation, this project uses reduction woodcuts and mold cultivation on paper to challenge traditional ideas of purity, boundaries, and preservation, particularly through a feminist and queer lens. Fermentation, often perceived as messy or unhygienic, becomes a powerful act of resistance against Western ideologies that champion order, cleanliness, and containment. Drawing on feminist and queer theory, as well as the work of fermentation activist Sandor Katz, this project subverts the conventional notions of health and purity embedded within colonial and patriarchal narratives. Through my experiments with microbial growth and reduction woodcut, I engage with fermentation as both a material and metaphorical process, reflecting on how societal boundaries around gender, race, and identity are continuously dissolved and reformed. In the studio, my reduction woodcuts mirror the fermentation process—layered, irreversible, and open to natural unpredictability. By intentionally growing mold on my prints, I invite transformation directly onto the artwork, merging organic decay with visual creation. This act embraces the non-linear, collaborative potential of microbial life, recognizing the intimate relationship between our bodies, our environment, and the communities we shape. Through The F Words*, I seek to dismantle rigid boundaries and invite viewers to consider the beauty in change, decay, and collaboration. This project underscores that just as fermentation reshapes food, embracing imperfection and transformation can reshape our understanding of art, identity, and connection.
Publication Date
12-1-2023
Description
Entry for the 11th Baker & Whitehill Student Artists' Book Contest. Opening reception and award ceremony Wednesday, February 19, 2025 at 6:30pm, Fleet Library, Main Reading Room. Juror: Roger S. Williams.
Keywords
artists' books; Baker & Whitehill
Disciplines
Book and Paper
Student Status
Graduate student
Year of Graduation
2025
Major
Illustration
Faculty / Course
Illustration Grad Studio 1
Materials + Techniques
Reduction woodcut on moldy paper in Ziplocs
Recommended Citation
Wang, Yimiao; Collections, Special; and Library, Fleet, "The F* Words: Food, Fermentation, and Feminism" (2023). 11th Baker & Whitehill Student Artists' Book Contest 2025. 51.
https://digitalcommons.risd.edu/bookcontest11th2025/51
