Eventually


Illustration, Artist’s Book

What’s a mother tongue when you’re estranged from it? 

“Eventually” is a zine about mandarins (the fruit) and Mandarin (the language). 

When I peel a mandarin, I think about my mother tongue that I’m no longer fluent in. There’s this unavoidable shame I feel as to not being a fluent Mandarin speaker as a Chinese diaspora.

The zine contemplates on this complexity through a form that mimics the peeling of a mandarin. As one peels through the zine, they will find my recollection of idle summers long past, learning to peel mandarins with my grandmother. 

12 hand-cut pages, bound with a paper fastener. Drawings are done with color pencils.