Jennifer Ling Datchuk American, b. 1980
Not Ready to Make Nice, 2024-5
Maple, porcelain, waterjet cut porcelain plates, paracord rope, and epoxy
40 x 22 x 3 in
101.6 x 55.9 x 7.6 cm
101.6 x 55.9 x 7.6 cm
The title for this work comes from The Chicks’ 2006 song Not Ready to Make Nice, written in defiance after the band was publicly “canceled” for criticizing President George W....
The title for this work comes from The Chicks’ 2006 song Not Ready to Make Nice, written in defiance after the band was publicly “canceled” for criticizing President George W. Bush in 2003 during the lead-up to the Iraq War. Here, geishas and empresses are reimagined in acts of protest at the State Capitol. Inspired by the black lacquer frames often found in Chinese homes and restaurants—where landscapes are crafted from dyed and cut seashells—this work transforms a familiar decorative form. Using a waterjet cutter, Datchuk removed these figures from porcelain plates, freeing them from narrow, fetishized roles into new scenes of resistance and empowerment.
