Asian Diasporic Zodiac: Water Dragon, Archival Print

The Asian Diasporic Zodiac explores hybrid identities, inspired by conversations with my Taiwanese mother. I reimagined the Zodiac animals as if they were informed by diaspora and landscapes of Turtle Island / North America.

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The Water Dragon embodies Yang water, active and dynamic, like rising oceans and floods reclaiming land. Water is often regarded as the strongest element because nothing can destroy it—in response to outside pressures water simply changes form.

As we approach the end of the Year of the Dragon, I have been thinking about how we stay flexible for the times to come. Water Dragons are known to be strong-minded, capable, and persevering. They are also trusting, a necessity for community-building and a strength when combined with wisdom. Many things are coming to a head. The world is calling upon us to change, and the world will change, whether our present-day human civilizations are ready for it or not.

Dragons don’t have a fixed form, instead taking on the qualities of several animals to suit themselves to their environments. They are adaptable, yet always clearly themselves. This Water Dragon has the head of an alligator, neck and wings of a blue heron, gills of an axolotl, and body and tail of sturgeon. I wanted this Dragon to have the widest range possible, so I gave them the qualities necessary to traverse water and land, fresh water and salty seas.

Years of the Water Dragon:
January 23, 2012 – February 9, 2013
January 27, 1952 – February 13, 1953