Wake Up, Pixoto!

<p><b>An admonishment, a command, a mantra</b><br><br>Weng Pixin revisits herself at her most vulnerable, in her art school days. She tries on various identities trying to understand who she is. Is she a sexual libertine? A fine artist? A sensitive friend? Just then, in steps a charismatic art instructor who helps her see her true worth. She joins his tight-knit group of artistic seekers and begins her real education. But…is something sinister lurking beneath the surface? Rivalries develop, friends disappear or are cast out, her instructor''s words take on a caustic edge. Pix becomes unmoored and less sure of herself than ever before and she begins to suspect she’s entered into a cult.<br><br>Dream-like floral collages shift to more stripped-down, character-based cartooning. Weng’s bright colors and rubbery people persist as her writing becomes more diaristic and detailed than her previous collections <i>Sweet Time</i> and <i>Let’s Not Talk Anymore.</i> <i>Wake Up, Pixoto!</i> is an interrogation into how groomers operate and how we can allow ourselves to be coerced into a world we DON’T want simply because we’re unsure of what we DO want. “Was I manipulated? Was I tricked?” The insidious thing is maybe we can never be certain.</p>