Yu Ji's solo exhibition at PPOW, New York, titled "Origin of the Tiger," presents sculptures and collages created after a residency she organized in Phnom Penh that offered art education to children. The show features works like reed mats with snail shells, a Sony Trinitron looping video, collaged drawings incorporating Cambodian children's art, and composite sculptures such as chairs with concrete knee casts and a figure inspired by a misattributed sixth-century Krishna statue. The exhibition draws on a Khmer folktale about transformation and includes audio of children reciting the story, though the children appear more as muses than collaborators.
The exhibition raises questions about the ethics of participatory art and the claim that the works derive communal energy from the Phnom Penh workshops. While the press release suggests democratic co-investigation with children, the article argues that the show ultimately fails to deliver on this promise, as all works are solely attributed to Yu. Instead, the exhibition becomes a map of interpretive inequality, highlighting who is granted passage and what survives in the translation of lived experience into art.