In the few years that we have known each other, Flo Oy Wong and I have only actually met twice: once in Norfolk, Virginia and once in Washington, DC. Due to the fact that we live on opposite coasts, our friendship is based on the stories we tell each other about our lives and the lives of those around us. I love to hear Flo talk about her most recent projects or trips or workshops. Most of all, I especially enjoy how she tells the life stories of people through her art.

Born in Oakland, Flo Oy Wong is an American artist of Chinese descent who lives and works in Sunnyvale, California. With unapologetic wisdom and honesty, her works are visual tributes to the stories of people’s lives. These tributes manifest themselves as narrative mixed-media installations built of rice, rice sacks, photographs, Chinese funeral paper, suitcases, flags, sequins, thread, and other materials. Her works establish relationships between viewers in the present and people and stories from the past. They enable viewers to learn about themselves as they discover the struggles, perseverance, and pride of people who have endured the harsh results of prejudice, ignorance, and intolerance. Simply, her works honor those who have been dishonored.

That her art is a vehicle through which viewers learn difficult yet inspirational lessons is no surprise. Flo Oy Wong decided to focus her attention on being an artist after spending some years as an elementary art teacher. When she is not in her studio preparing for an exhibition, Flo finds time to conduct visiting artist workshops at universities and art centers. These workshops are instructional extensions of her artwork. “Her vision as an artist… is to enable artists and community members to probe their cultural histories more deeply and to express their insights to audiences through innovative artistic media… Wong’s rice sack flags and interviews – give present and future generations artistic, scholastic, and historical documentation of their ancestors’ lives.” [1] Flo’s workshops are instructional experiences about the human condition, built around the formal and conceptual content of her art

Her trademark materials and symbols – rice and rice sacks – are metaphors for such themes as love, sharing, friendship, and memories. Additionally, by incorporating the American flag, suitcases, and stitchery into her visual language, Flo Oy Wong further reveals how all people are connected by these humane qualities as well as the brutal means by which humans devise to treat one another. Wen Ho Lee, Japanese internment detainees, and paper families are some of the more recent characters whose stories are told through Flo’s works. Their personal struggles are reminders to us all that we share a common bond, the gift of human life. Her works offer images of how identity is determined by social and cultural conditions. No doubt, her combination of words, images, and objects invites viewers to make connections between their lives and personal stories that are important to us all.

As both artist and storyteller, Flo Oy Wong is an inspirational teacher who understands the importance of learning from lived experiences, whether they are her own of those of others. “Being an artist teaches me to see. When I go to artist workshops and/or residencies I share that ‘seeing.’ I learned this sharing from my father who said to me years ago, ‘U loy, u wohng,’ and ‘mmm hoong sill.’ The first means that there is “give and take” and the latter means ‘we should never go anywhere empty-handed.’” [2]

My relationship with Flo Oy Wong has given me much. In turn, I hope that I have offered her something of value for herself. Without question, she has never come to me empty handed. And that may be the most moving lesson I have ever learned. Thank you, Flo, for your lessons, your friendship, and your stories.

October 2003

[1] Hom, N. (2000). Forward. In Flo Oy Wong: made in usa: angel island shhh (p.7). CA: Kearny Street Workshop.

[2] Flo Oy Wong, personal communication, July 2001.