Stuart Hall, Cultural Identity and Diaspora (1990)

In his seminal essay Cultural Identity and Diaspora, Stuart Hall challenges essentialist notions of identity by arguing that cultural identity is not a fixed essence but a constantly evolving process shaped by history, power, and representation. He outlines two positions on identity: one that views identity as a shared cultural heritage, and another, which is his preferred model, that sees identity as a "production," always in process and constituted through difference. Hall introduces the concept of “diasporic identity”, emphasizing that identity emerges through displacement, hybridity, and the negotiation of cultural memory.
 

This framework directly informs my research into Taiwanese identity through the cultural symbolism and colonial history of orchids. Taiwan’s historical position as a colony, first under Japan and later shaped by global capitalism, renders identity inherently diasporic. The Phalaenopsis orchid, as both an export commodity and national emblem, embodies the kind of fractured, shifting identity Hall describes. It carries traces of colonial classification, global commodification, and local pride.
 

Hall’s emphasis on identity as "becoming" rather than "being" parallels my own practice, which treats orchid imagery, data, and material processes not as representations of fixed meaning but as tools for articulating complex, layered postcolonial narratives. His theory supports my exploration of hybridity as an active method of reconfiguring identity through art and sensory engagement.