THE PRICE OF FITTING IN
Extreme Weight Loss: A Body Installation

An installation artwork conveying the artist's personal experience of facing the physical impacts of extreme weight loss, questioning societal beauty standards where "thinness" is made a representation of beauty and self-worth.

The exhibition space is designed to guide viewers through a narrative progressing from "being scrutinized and judged by society – controlling one's own body – to the resulting physical wounds and consequences," using a medical atmosphere as the central storytelling motif.

Blue-toned cyanotype prints serve as the primary visual language to document body traces, memories, and gradual transformations. Meanwhile, gauze, IV bags, hospital beds, and medical elements are repurposed as symbols of vulnerability, loss, and bodily control.

Amidst the cold blue space, a silhouette on the bed slowly fades, accompanied by traces of blue droplets falling onto the fabric—reflecting how the body and identity are gradually eroded under the pressure of beauty standards.

The artwork aims not merely to present a personal journey, but to invite viewers to reflect on the true value of societal beauty norms when the cost is one's health and relationship with oneself.

Ultimately, the piece encourages us to recognize the true worth of the body as it is, challenge the concept that "thinner means prettier," and shift our focus toward health, self-acceptance, and body diversity.
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By MS. LINNA YANG
Doctoral student in the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
Program in Art and Design
Faculty of Fine Arts, Chiang Mai University
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Exhibition Opening Ceremony:
Monday, September 7, 2026, from 4:00 PM onwards
At the 2nd Floor Exhibition Hall
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Exhibition Dates:
September 4 – 29, 2026
Monday – Friday | 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
(Closed on Saturdays and Sundays)