MNG Presents
Wishing Well: I wish I was white
By Juli Song
he artist’s work Wishing Well: I wish I was white is an installation and performance piece that investigates the trading of self in exchange for an ephemeral desire. In the installation, a white ceramic basin filled with water, is surrounded by 777 heart shaped wishing tokens. The folklore surrounding wishing wells is the idea that a person would be granted good luck if they drop a coin or pebble into a well. The act of offering, forsaking an item as a payment for good luck is what compels us to part with items of personal value for the hope of a granted wish (1). The 777 tokens represent the lucky jackpot as an added offering for good fortune: playing into the superstitions of lucky numbers. The audience is prompted by the wishing basin to make an offering they deem appropriate for their wish. Each token is crafted with immense labor and care by the artist, which welcomes participants to engage with the work. In the artist’s performance, they wish into the wishing basin with hopes of granting their childhood wish to be a White person.
Dundes, Alan. “The Folklore of Wishing Wells.”
See the exhibition in the Main Space Gallery from April 4-15.