Saucy Suits Explore Connection With Consumerism & Self Identity At Oceanside Museum Of Art

Oceanside Museum of Art (OMA) is kicking off the year with a brand-new exhibition titled Ethan Chan: Selections from the Closets of the People That I Love… featuring wearable art made from condiment packets that explores the connection between consumerist culture and self-identity. The Ethan Chan exhibition is open now and will run through April 30.

Ethan Chan: Selections from the Closets of the People That I Love…

Known for his use of off-kilter materials including packaging and bubble gum, Ethan Chan explores the connection between materialism and individuality through his art.

Ethan Chan: Selections from the Closets of the People That I Love… is part of an ongoing series of wearable sculptures constructed from various sauce packets collected from fast food chains, gas stations, and high school cafeterias.

Ethan Chan exhibition oceanside museum of art

Modeled after outfits from his friends’ closets, this exhibition will feature seven “sauce-suits” paired alongside a photograph of his friends wearing them in their everyday life. Drawing on the connection to consumerist culture, the series highlights how we craft our individuality and personas through apparel and material.

Ethan’s work examines love for all things kitsch, cookie-cutter, and plastic; and in its transformation, attempts to place itself at the intersection between globalism and Americana.

A graduate of Point Loma Nazarene University, Ethan became fascinated with the American “plastic” lifestyle. Growing up as an Asian-American, Ethan spent his childhood between Wisconsin and Asia before moving to Southern California. His work challenges the American obsession with material items, and how it has become intrinsically connected to shaping one’s identity. Ethan now spends his time living in Mission Valley and Pasadena.