“Unbound” explores the inheritance of ancestral trauma and the infantalisation of Asian female sexuality via my forays into the foot fetish industry. My great-great grandmother was the last woman in my family to have bound feet. Foot-binding, which was prevalent from the 10th to 19th century in China, involved breaking the arch of the foot and binding the toes to the sole of the foot in order to inhibit growth. During an era when women’s futures were largely dependent on their ability to attract prosperous suitors, the painful practice was common among upper-class families. Despite being born into a life of privilege and respected as a major landowner in her village, my great-great-grandmother chose not to intervene during the Chinese Famine of 1942, when her granddaughter starved to death next door to her.

At age four (the same age when girls begin the process of foot-binding), I spent six months living in my ancestral home in Kaiping, China, where I suffered a fracture to my left foot. As an adult, I have sample size feet (European 37) and have been involved in a decade-long relationship with a man whose wealth derives from a shoe company.

Capitalising upon the sexual stereotypes of Asian women as submissive, girlish figures, I solicit anonymous men via Craigslist and Tinder for private meetings, in which they pay to engage in “foot worship” sessions (rubbing, kissing, and licking my feet).

In the resulting gallery installation, I invite members of the public to sit with me inside a circle of rice and to trade foot massages as they share stories of family pain (which they have personally caused or experienced).