Alison Ho

Rock the Boat

Mylar balloon letters | 2022

Conformists and sycophants alike will warn, “Don’t rock the boat!” In times of injustice, rocking the boat and defying expectations are the only way to move forward and incite change. Not rocking the boat is no longer an option. Radical change requires taking risks, fighting against the current, and speaking truth to power. The aesthetic of this work appears innocuous in its mylar balloon medium, however its defiant, monumental message is both a call to action and a celebration acknowledging those moments, big or small, in which we stood up and rocked the boat.

Lasting Damage

Digital video | 2022

Due to the pandemic, “working from home” became a norm that drastically altered workplace dynamics. Facilitated by new conferencing technologies like Zoom, the boundary between our private and our professional lives collapsed into one. Lasting Damage was prompted by the systemic and interpersonal racial discrimination and harassment that I experienced. Read in a clinical-fashion, the coldness of my message is a juxtaposition to the effects of racism on individuals at the most personal level. My recount sheds light on the difficulty of exposing and navigating microaggressions in the workplace due to their subtle nature. Because this harassment now occurs inside our homes and at times, through the intimacy of our headphones; there is an immediate sense of invasiveness and violation. However, video conferencing can also be a platform on which we can reclaim our voice through positive connections and where we are empowered to heal.