Fortune Cookies (2024)

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Fortune Cookies (2024) is a collection of mixed-media fortune cookies created out of glass, ceramic, and metalwork. It is a display of the artist Bernadine Wang’s various artistic mediums, as well as a metaphor for her culture as a Chinese American immigrant. 

Fortune cookies exists as both an object of familiarity as well as alien. From its creation in San Francisco Chinatown, its recipe developed in America but has roots in Chinese immigrant communities. To Bernadine, fortune cookies are a rejection from all cultures, being neither Chinese nor American. It is unfamiliar. Bernadine recalls moments speaking with friends in Asia about fortune cookies, and their unfamiliarity with the treat. It is not something they had even heard of, while folks in the US associate the cookie with traditional Chinese culture. 

Fortune cookies are a representation of Bernadine’s experience as a Taiwanese immigrant in America. This relates to her identity as her culture lies neither in Taiwan, America, nor China. Instead, in the margins of what it means to be a Chinese American Immigrant. The shape reminds her of a heart and a traditional Chinese gold nugget. When cracked open, it gives a message of optimism and wisdom. She wishes to bring joy in creating this art piece.