Exploring femininity and the body, to perfectly wrap your rolls utilizes poetry and Vietnamese rice paper as a visual representation of insecurity, resilience, and protection. In this piece, the rice paper acts as a metaphor for masking— it folds and conceals the ingredients within a fresh spring roll. Although, the round and translucent sheet cannot be filled entirely, as it could eventually fall apart due to the little space it has to hold everything. Similarly, the body is malleable and needs space to grow and stretch out into form. However, the skin has its ability to rip and leave scars on the surface for all to see. By letting the rice paper sit and stick onto the body as another layer of skin, I am reminded of the desire to hide one’s imperfections, molded by society’s expectations.
to perfectly wrap your rolls
to perfectly wrap your rolls
you must soften the skin, quickly
let it sit in warm water,
then wipe off the excess,
as you certainly would not want…
to tear,
stretch out every inch—
so that your folds lay flat
to have enough room
on a plate that serves
the ideal role of spring