Inspired by Stephanie Ng’s book “Big Bites Break Boundaries”, I explore the labels that we put on young girls such as "靚女” “乖女” “叻女” that become shackles of what it means to be a woman in a traditional Chinese society. "靚女” means, “pretty girl”; “乖女” means “good girl”, and “叻女” means “smart girl” - all of these are common descriptors used to praise girls that conform to societal norms, thus becoming the currency with which they attain belonging and affirmation.

I deconstructed the characters of these labels to hide them in a maze-like pattern, symbolising the wider, inescapable maze that girls navigate with very little hope of attaining these impossible standards imposed on them from a young age. “A rat in a maze is free to go anywhere, as long as it stays inside the maze.” Margaret Atwood’s haunting reminder in The Handmaid’s Tale warns us of the dehumanisation women are subject to with our relentless categorisations.

Envisaging them to be printed on scarves, the work can be worn by the every woman as a subversive act that defies the labels put on them.

"靚女” “乖女” “叻女” are inspired by the chapter headings from Stephanie Ng’s Book “Big Bites Breaks Boundaries” in which she chronicles her story of recovery from an eating disorder.