roar with heaven.
Sylvie L.
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“roar with heaven.” – a collage representing my music taste and Asian American identity.
Inspired by the song “War With Heaven” sung by Vietnamese American singer, songwriter, and producer keshi, I used newspapers, magazines, and a white gel pen to create a collage featuring one of the lyrics from the song. I started by layering photos of a dusky landscape and city skyscrapers that I found in a magazine to fill the blank canvas and serve as a backdrop for the rest of the collage. I used an article from a Chinese newspaper with the headline “?? (America)...” to create the next layer, symbolizing the Chinese part of my identity. To represent my American identity as well, I added a part of a quote that I found in an American magazine that says “This is a big win for us…” in the top right corner and a tiger graphic that I found in the same magazine in the opposite bottom left corner. Around the tiger, I quoted the chorus of keshi’s “War With Heaven”, as if the tiger was roaring the lyrics out. The tiger is also symbolic of 2022‘s Chinese zodiac animal; those born in the Year of the Tiger are characterized as being brave, confident, courageous, and outspoken. To add more emphasis on the text, I added some doodles and outlined the words with a white gel pen, finishing my piece “roar with heaven.”
Produced by 88rising, a music label and platform for Asian artists to amplify their music into mainstream American media, and sang by keshi, “War With Heaven” uses the idea of going to war to hyperbolize his will to fight for a relationship with his significant other. Featured on Marvel’s “Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings” soundtrack, the ethos of the song really stood out to me – it sounded so grand to be able to stand up against something as powerful as heaven. To have the courage and believe that you have the strength to do the impossible and wage a war against heaven – and win – felt really empowering.
Shang-Chi was “a big win” for the Asian American community. After over a year of increased violence and anti-Asian hate because of the pandemic, seeing Shang-Chi on the big screen and finally having a superhero film with an Asian protagonist filled me, and many others, with pride in our cultural identities. Representation in media and the arts is so important. Growing up, I barely saw anyone that looked like me in mainstream media; whenever I did see someone that looked like me on TV, even if they weren’t doing anything grand, I always watched them with pride. Seeing other Asians on-screen made me feel like I could go somewhere with my life and represent a community as well. Shang-Chi broke through barriers and introduced more Asian celebrities into Hollywood and mainstream media, while the complementary soundtrack produced by 88rising also amplified Asian artists into mainstream music platforms as well.
Although the pandemic’s rampant xenophobia forced me to suppress my cultural pride, used the time as an opportunity to learn more about my heritage. Learning more about Chinese culture and sharing it with my peers through my school’s Chinese Culture Club helped restore my pride and makes me even more grateful to represent such a rich and beautiful culture within my community. I want to celebrate Asian American identity and representation through my art – not only for myself, but also for those that view it as well. If it came down to it, I “might go to war with heaven” to claim my cultural pride for myself, and for others who may be struggling to find their own.
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Creativity: an unconfined vehicle for self-expression. My creative outlets are an escape from reality; they often combine many mediums, as creativity has no boundaries. Although physically made of paper, I draw inspiration from music and graphic design to create eye-catching and engaging collages.
