Painted Yellow is a photo essay that explores themes of self-representation and identity while also touching on themes of historical misrepresentation. The series consists of photographs that depict the artist’s unclothed body covered in yellow paint, to critique how ethnicity has been visually depicted throughout history, and to inhabit the misrepresentations and stereotypes of Chinese people to comment on racialization. Parker Mosey takes the misrepresentation of Chinese people and chooses to wear it, demonstrating how she has struggled with her own racial identity. By using her yellow-stained flesh as the subject matter, she is confronting viewers with the ways in which racialization creates a sense of discomfort for those affected by it directly.

What it Means to Be a Chinese Adoptee goes beyond her own experiences, as she has reached out to other Chinese adoptees across the world to share their own experiences. Through text, she tells their stories within the frames of their childhood photographs, painted with a yellow hue to represent the colour that has been associated with their complexion. The similarities of their experiences are emphasized through the myriad repetitions across the stories being told; they have all been through the same things, and they have all felt the same way. By juxtaposing the familiar sweetness of childhood images with textual accounts of painful memories, Parker Mosey attempts to highlight the lasting impact of the racism, microaggressions, and cultural erasures they experienced at a young age.

Together, these series connect the artist’s individual voice and the voices of many others to reveal how representations and experiences have altered their lives as they have grown up, emphasizing the internal conflict that occurs as a result.