(Archive) Eat Dust

Car Culture

In the 1990s cars served as an extension of cultural identity for Asian American communities, standing in opposition to the idealizing white American lifestyle. The import modified car aesthetic in Los Angeles represented this resistance, using customizations to stand out and differentiate themselves from mainstream values and norms. However, now we often associate this aesthetic with the obnoxious and hyper-masculine trends of that time, resulting in the loss of its original meaning and leaving a lingering stigma.

This work aims to reimagine and revitalize the once-cringe elements of the '90s import car culture. Its goal is to reclaim their cultural value and reshape them, recapturing the lost symbolism that represented identity and belonging. It involves the destruction and aestheticization of corporate logos, appropriating these symbols driven by consumerism to gain a deeper connection to personal identity.