“You look so exotic. Where are you from?”

How does one appreciate the exotic without fetishizing it? EXOTIC GOODS explores the often blurred lines between compliment and condescension, and examines the tenuous relationship between objectification and admiration through familiar representations of what’s beautiful: the female form, and the natural beauty of flowers.

The EXOTIC GOODS photography exhibition opened in November 2018 at Shopkeepers Gallery in Washington, D.C. The exhibition consisted of photography, a floral installation, a short film, and interactive performance art. Following the exhibition’s opening, the artists involved hosted a panel where they discussed how the project came to be and the creative processes behind it all. It was keen to the artists from the beginning that these conversations would not end there. This online magazine and gallery preserves an exhibition that (literally) had many moving parts and hopefully, sparks many more thoughts about what it means to be Asian American, female, dark sinned, “exotic,” etc.

Personal images from the exhibition can be found via Instagram using the hashtag #ExoticGoodsDC.