Bridge to Basel: The Ark of Us

“Contraction and Release” (Paint and textile appliqué on 9ft x 6ft drop cloth)

Inspired by Martha Graham and her dance company (celebrating its centennial in 2026). Graham revolutionized the world of dance and said the pulsating movements starting in the dancer’s pelvis and exploding outward were based on breathing, but this has always seemed like birth or sex from the female perspective to me. Unlike Degas’s ethereal ballerinas who were in reality "opera rats" — exploited underage girls from poor families enduring brutal 6-day work weeks for little pay and often forced into prostitution by wealthy patrons — Martha Graham’s works present a bold and uncompromising vision which she created with exacting detail from a woman’s gaze. Created as part of the site installation The Ark of Us, "Contraction and Release," with its spiraling white lines and vibrant energy and movement, are a direct counterpoint to the strict black and white geometric structure imposed on "Vitruvian Woman." —Artist Julie Wong

 “Vitruvian Woman” (Paint and oil pastels on 9ft x 6ft drop cloth)

Leonardo da Vinci based his work on specific dimensions that defined the perfect man. “Vitruvian Woman” is constrained within both classical geometric structures and current social norms — no “man-spreading” for her! Quotations from President Trump’s infamous hot mic “grab ‘em by the pussy” moment to my own father’s response to my wanting to attend Yale — “Raising a daughter is like watering someone else’s field” — show what defines a women’s worth in men’s eyes. Even Anna Wintour buys into the myth that strong women must be either dangerously sexualized, able to kill you with a glance like the Medusa on Versace’s logo, or dressed like Dior — above reproach like Caesar’s wife. “Vitruvian Woman” is part of the installation The Ark of Us, whose blackened exterior walls show the constraints imposed on women. The counterpart to “Contraction and Release,” its strict geometry contrasts with the other’s spiraling complexity. —Artist Julie Wong

"Inside the Red Tent" (9ft x 6ft heritage quilt)

“Inside the Red Tent” is a 9ft by 6ft quilt made with salvaged fabric from my daughter’s baby blanket, my mother’s dresses, and “100 Families” wedding gifts. I continued this Chinese tradition asking each guest to share with me a meaningful fabric from their own stash along with a note telling its story. I’ve been using pieces in my own work ever since. This is particularly appropriate for this work which depicts women I’d like to have “Inside the Red Tent” with me to share struggles and joys and pass on stories and intergenerational wisdom. One section was inspired by another quilt I saw in a museum in China made by women who were part of the Nu Shu sisterhood. Nu Shu or women’s script is a secret gendered language known only to women. The quilt I saw had embroidered on it complaints about the woman’s husband — and he slept under it unknowing every night! —Artist Julie Wong

“This Is Water for Women” (Paint and oil pastels on 9ft x 6ft drop cloth)

This work started as a community project. I invited community members to think about and record what social norms they would like to leave outside the The Ark of Us — an empowering space for women to share their stories and support each other. Inspired by David Foster Wallace’s fable about two fish, “This is Water for Women” captures the invisible environment from economic sanctions to assumed gender-specific responsibilities that is the “water” women swim in every day. From Cesar Chavez to Eric Swalwell, women are asking: “Why can’t you just keep it in your pants?” From Sigmund Freud to Norman Mailer, women are demanding that men stop defining themselves by dominating women and that women be allowed to define themselves. “This is Water for Women” is part of a site installation The Ark of Us and is the counterpart to the extraordinary women “Inside the Red Tent.” —Artist Julie Wong