Fortune Desserts
2022
The fortune cookie, invented by the Japanese in the 19th century, traveled along the path of immigrants and was later popularized by Chinese Americans through the tides of history. Presented as a dessert substitute at the end of meals, this unassuming cookie—largely unrecognized in East Asia’s Chinese-speaking world—has gradually become a symbol of Chinese cuisine abroad.
Fortunate Dessert is a table installation that uses archives, menus, food, and illustrations to narrate the migration story behind the fortune cookie. While the fortune cookie marks the conclusion of a meal as a dessert, Fortunate Dessert, as a research project, marks the beginning of the artist’s journey to collect stories of migrant foods and migration experiences.
The project has been presented as one of the special projects in the thematic exhibition area at The 7th abC Art Book Fair · Beijing.
Medium: Fortune Cookies, Paper Printing, Ceramic, Plastic