kayla tange
Los Angeles , California
Tange is a Los Angeles artist born in South Korea, adopted by a Japanese American family. Boundaries, desire, and permanence are recurring themes in their work.
MessageA Chance to Be Seen (and not disappear when feelings appear), 2022, is a sculptural display of letters between myself and my biological mother. After an unsuccessful reunification, they were translated by the social worker assigned to the case upon returning from South Korea. Some of the documents are from my transactive adoption. International adoption in Korea, a highly profitable export since the Korean war, has displaced over 150,000 children. This piece acts as a way to not only shine a light on a once personal shame of mine but also be reminiscent of an innocuous store window where advertising and evening window shopping might occur. Despite my adoptive parents being the best I could have asked for, raising me with immense love and care, I never ceased to believe my own country viewed me as a commodity. This experience set the tone for many work choices I found the most comfort in, such as sex work and erotic dance. The transformation and chosen family that arose from actively putting myself on display was an unexpected and treasured part of this healing process.
- Subject Matter: adoption, sex work, mother, Korea
- Collections: Available pieces, sculpture
Other Work From kayla tange
copyright Kayla Tange 2025