Different pokes for different folks
This is a Humans of Heart & Hands appreciation + cross promotional post of one of our talented H&H clients of which Christina has formed both a professional and personal relationship with. This is a great opportunity to highlight our client’s wonderful, vibrant and joyful body of work!
I have been a client of Vic Lee for a few years now and am the proud recipient of numerous pieces of their work. As someone who has lived with chronic illness since my early teens, tattoos are part of my personal process of regaining bodily autonomy. A physical way to adorn, make light and celebrate a body hijacked by lupus nephritis. I feel a kinship to Vic as we are both racialized femmes, the children of immigrants, live with chronic illness and have chosen non-model minority career paths. They are also such an enthusiastic, talented and bright ray of sunshine! It is such a pleasure to be tattooed by them and likewise, they are also a wonderful client of our Community Acupuncture practice!
Back in 2022, Vic was offering free Chinese food-themed flash (see below) to BIPOC community members and seemed to really strike a strong chord through the local Asian community. So many of us Asian diaspora have very similar lived experiences with racism and othering. Each and everyone one of us has been ridiculed for our food, accents, not measuring up to Eurocentric beauty standards, told to “go back to where you came from”, “your people are so”…Some of us have experienced violence (verbal or physical) for being Asian in public. Some of us, my myself included, have been discriminated by other Asians for being Canadian-born, hence, lesser than, “not a real Chinese”.
The ongoing experience of othering and xenophobia remains a common thread within many diasporatic communities.
For all of these reasons, I wasn’t always proud to be Chinese. It has been a conflicting and non-linear path to arrive at a place where I feel ready to celebrate who I am, my cultural identity within the context of Western society and my relationship with an unstable, ever-changing body. Through my work as a Community Acupuncturist, I have created an outlet to express what it means to be Chinese-Canadian. And as a lupus survivor, I bring to my acupuncture practice, a deep understanding of the ongoing cycles of recovery and relapse. I exist at the intersections of racism, xenophobia, sexism, ableism and at Heart & Hands, we confront these barriers on a daily basis.
As an acupuncturist, I’ve been reflecting on my relationship to the TCM community. The silence from my colleagues and our profession as a whole in the midst of a rise in anti-Asian violence early in the pandemic was disappointing, but unsurprising. There is a lot of consumption and profiting from our cultural traditions, but is rarely reciprocated nor it’s origins and ancestors adequately recognised. This society built on white supremacy loves to appropriate Asian culture, yet many of us are seen as perpetual foreigners and constantly being challenged to prove that we belong. Being the Owner/Operator of this little social enterprise, I periodically sense the subtle mixed reaction of admiration for the important work we do and the simultaneous disapproval that a strong, outspoken Asian woman is behind it all. This feeling of disapproval is one I’ve know my entire lifetime and carrying this burden never seems to get any easier. My lived experience may leave a lot to be desired as a racialized Canadian, but it also strengthens my resolve in using Community Acupuncture as a tool for social change and to share a part of my cultural identity.
So you might be wondering which flash did I choose? I chose the ceramic soup spoon! I moved to BC with 2 soup spoons from childhood, patent red with ornate floral patterns and butter yellow knots. To me, these spoons make ideal massage tools, the perfect utensil for boiling hot soups, but more importantly, they are a love letter to all of the bone broths, congees and herbal decoctions I was raised on. I am certain that I am composed of 50% chicken broth. A pot simmering on the stove for hours represents to me nourishment, resilience and comfort. I am proud to be adorned with a symbol of who I am and where I came from.
If you are looking for culturally-sensitive, trauma-informed, COVID+disability conscious and sometimes, Asian-themed tattooing, look no further, Vic is who you need!!
You can find them at on Instagram @vicleetattoos, co-owner of @toughpup.tattooshop (532 1/2 Fisgard St)
I have never slept better than I have under the care of Christina Chan. Reclined, wrapped in blankets and poked with little needles.
I have been receiving treatments from Christina since the beginning of my tattoo career. We started with a client to client relationship, and it has blossomed into a friendship that is strengthened in our lived experiences as Chinese-Canadians.
Much of my art has been centred around my Chinese identity, and especially food. Every week we gather around my grandparents table and share dinner together. Through every change in my life, those family dinners have remained a constant.
Even though food has been such a strong connection my culture, family and ancestors, when I was younger, I was ashamed to eat those foods at school. Constantly berated with racist comments about my lunches, tired stereotypes disguised in a “joke.”
Despite the racism, food has always brought me comfort. A hot bowl of jook could never be cruel, steamed fish never laughed at me and the only mean thing har gow has done to me is burn my mouth.
As a tattooer I’ve had the privilege of working with people from all walks of life, with experiences that often intersect with my own. I am trans, queer, Chinese and chronically ill. I feel a strong connection to the people I tattoo and share in stories and experiences. Being able to tattoo in one of the oldest Chinatowns as a Chinese-Canadian is truly special.
Receiving treatment at Heart & Hands, has not only been beneficial for my health, mental and physical. It has brought me closer to sense of feeling at home in my body. Being a part of my cultural practices and medicines have made me feel at ease and aligned with my inner self. Much like how tattoos can make people feel more at home in their bodies, and reclaim autonomy. I feel like acupuncture has done the same for me.
I am so grateful to have met Christina and be her client, tattooer and to be her friend has been an honour.
Heart & Hands is a truly warm and welcoming space, surrounded by the most supportive community. I recommend Heart and Hands to everyone and can’t wait for my next acu-nap!
