Oxygen Art Centre is delighted to share a commissioned text by Kelowna-based writer Corinna Chong entitled “Paper Fan” in response to Phuong Nguyen’s exhibition, porcelain like flesh and skin, flesh and skin like porcelain.
Corinna Chong is a writer, editor, and designer based in Kelowna, BC. She teaches in the department of English and Fine Arts at Okanagan College. Chong holds a BA in English (Creative Writing) and BFA in Visual Art (Photography) from the University of Calgary, as well as an MA in English (Creative Writing) from the University of New Brunswick.
Chong’s publications include Belinda’s Rings (NeWest Press, 2013), The Whole Animal (Arsenal Pulp Press, 2023), and Bad Land (Arsenal Pulp Press, 2024), as well as reviews and short fiction in literary magazines across Canada, including Room, The Humber Literary Review, The Malahat Review, The Fiddlehead, and Grain. Chong’s work has received great acclaim with her third book, Bad Land (2024), longlisted for the Giller Prize. In addition to her own work, Chong is committed to engaging in the writing community, especially through guiding and mentoring emerging writers.
Chong’s story is in response to an exhibition by Phuong Nguyen entitled porcelain like flesh and skin, flesh and skin like porcelain featuring a series of oil paintings that explore Ornamentalist ideologies of femininity through representational still lives, each framed with ornate wood-carved, ceramic, and woven adornments. Nguyen’s exhibition was on view at Oxygen Art Centre from January 14, 2026, to March 14, 2026.
“Paper Fan” is available to read for free here and in print at Oxygen.
The project is supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, the Vancouver Foundation, the BC Arts Council & the Regional District of Central Kootenay ReDi program.
IMAGE CREDITS:
All artworks by Phuong Nguyen, Planche X (series), oil paintings with embedded frames in wood, ceramic, and string, 2025; Courtesy the Artist.
All photographs by Kenton Doupe, February 2026, exhibition documentation at Oxygen Art Centre, Nelson, B.C., Canada.