Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Birds of a feather, we should stick together… 🪶
Oscar yi Hou’s triptych painting, “Birds of a Feather aka: Chinatown Gangsters,” explores the queer Asian diaspora in the twentieth century through its depiction in Western media.
A self-portrait with artists Amanda Ba and Sasha Gordon, the painting shows the trio in formal suits and assertive poses striving to shield themselves from ridicule.
Resembling a folding screen, an object traditionally used to create privacy in the home, the work also suggests a barrier protecting the inner, untouchable aspects of identity.
See this work in Breaking the Mold: Brooklyn Museum at 200, on view through September 6.
📷 Brooklyn Talks: Oscar yi Hou, October 2022. Brooklyn Museum. (Photo: Kolin Mendez) → Oscar yi Hou. Birds of a Feather aka: Chinatown Gangsters, 2024. Oils, gouache, graphite, and colored pencil on canvas; brass hardware, three (3) panels. Brooklyn Museum, Purchase gift of Pamela and David Hornik, in honor of Eugenie Tsai, 2024.71. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)
#BrooklynMuseum #BkM200 #Pride #OscaryiHou
Birds of a feather, we should stick together… 🪶
Oscar yi Hou’s triptych painting, “Birds of a Feather aka: Chinatown Gangsters,” explores the queer Asian diaspora in the twentieth century through its depiction in Western media.
A self-portrait with artists Amanda Ba and Sasha Gordon, the painting shows the trio in formal suits and assertive poses striving to shield themselves from ridicule.
Resembling a folding screen, an object traditionally used to create privacy in the home, the work also suggests a barrier protecting the inner, untouchable aspects of identity.
See this work in Breaking the Mold: Brooklyn Museum at 200, on view through September 6.
📷 Brooklyn Talks: Oscar yi Hou, October 2022. Brooklyn Museum. (Photo: Kolin Mendez) → Oscar yi Hou. Birds of a Feather aka: Chinatown Gangsters, 2024. Oils, gouache, graphite, and colored pencil on canvas; brass hardware, three (3) panels. Brooklyn Museum, Purchase gift of Pamela and David Hornik, in honor of Eugenie Tsai, 2024.71. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)
#BrooklynMuseum #BkM200 #Pride #OscaryiHou
