FOK FOK INDUSTRIES
Fok Fok Industries is a multi-genre project reappropriating the appropriative award-winning, white-owned, Thai restaurant franchise Pok Pok. Fok Fok Industries uses digital media, performance art, and original fake merchandise to address capitalist consumption, the fantasy of the cultural “Other,” and the neocolonial gaze disguised as multiculturalism.
Special Acknowledgement:
Finalist (13 out of 615 applicants) of the Betty Bowen Award, Seattle Art Museum, 2020
Materials: Glass, fabric
Year Completed: 2019
These sculptural works represent a physical installation related to Fok Fok Industries. Hand-blown, two-tone glass cups with glass-cast chicken wings and drumsticks ornament the table of the fictional Fok Fok restaurant, highlighting the gastronomic exploitation of Asian cultures through these aestheticized and fragile pieces.
Fok Fok Industries is a multidisciplinary project utilizing copycat branding and intellectual property loopholes as a Trojan horse to examine capital, Orientalization, and gastronomic exploitation in response to the white-owned Thai restaurant franchise Pok Pok. It incorporates art interventions and worldmaking performances in the style of faux reality TV shows, using humor to interrogate the commodification of cultural artifacts.
Through speculative fiction, it reveals uncomfortable systemic truths after luring viewers into a surreal world.
“Ike's Vietnamese Fish Sauce Limbs (Spicy or Regular Available) - Half twelve fresh whole natural chicken limbs marinated in Asian fish sauce and sugar, deeply fried, coated in caramelized fish sauce and garlic, and served with pickled vegetables. Our Signature Platter! As seen on "Diners and Drive-ins"”
Medium: glass
year: 2019
︎︎︎note: viewers can move the images above (desktop only) ︎︎︎
Medium: Pixel art retro/8-bit gif looping into a video with audio, 1 min
Year: 2020-present
“The firestorm apocalypse is in full swing, and you’ve just stumbled upon your new safe haven. You’re hungry, tired, and overwhelmed with the state of the world. On the table, there’s a curated plate of warm, aromatic sticky rice and crispy blue fried chicken. You can’t believe what you’re about to see. Indulge in your new favorite 8-bit adventure.”
The Fok Fok retro soundtrack is inspired by 60s-80s Thai pop-funk and retro grooves. It uses distorted thunder, rain, and various instruments to capture the essence of the Vitamin D-deficient Pacific Northwest and pop songs experienced in Thai restaurants.
Special thank you to:
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