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What happens when famous women from Western pop culture are dropped into the middle of everyday Chinese life? Apparently, they make tea, practice calligraphy and cook with a wok—and they look really, really strange doing it.
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Guest House: Welcome Home, a new exhibition at Chinatown’s The Wang Contemporary that opens today, September 11, features 10 life-size wax sculptures, each placing a recognizable female icon—though unnamed, the figures are clearly modeled after the likes of Taylor Swift, Madonna, Tyra Banks, Naomi Campbell, Paris Hilton and more—in an unexpected setting rooted in Chinese daily rituals.
The women, dressed in silk qipaos, are depicted performing ordinary activities including drinking tea, cooking and playing the erhu. The effect is deliberately uncanny; these aren't simply celebrity likenesses transported across the globe, but elaborate reimaginings that turn wax sculpture into something resembling a frozen movie scene.
"I am honored to be making my American institutional debut with The Wang Contemporary, given their commitment to championing Asian artists," said Zhou Xuerong in a statement. “When someone encounters these familiar faces in an unexpected cultural setting, I hope they begin to question not only what they're looking at, but what it means to be a guest in someone else’s culture.”
Over a 30-year career, Xuerong has created more than 900 wax sculptures and founded Grand Orient Wax Art in Guangdong, where she leads a team of more than 50 artisans. Each sculpture takes months to complete, combining traditional craftsmanship with contemporary technology such as 3D scanning.
The exhibition is the second presentation from The Wang Contemporary, the Chinatown cultural organization founded by Ying and Alexander Wang. The organization opened in February 2026 with a three-day performative installation by the art collective MSCHF during Lunar New Year.
"I visited Zhou’s studio in Guangdong earlier this year and was immediately struck by her extraordinary craftsmanship and how much emotion her wax figures elicited," Wang said. "My mother, Ying, and I created The Wang Contemporary to build meaningful cultural exchange between Asia and the United States. This exhibition asks us to consider how Chinese traditions, once mocked and derided, will continue to reshape our global imagination."
Guest House: Welcome Home runs every Friday through Sunday throughout September. Admission is free, although registration is required. For more information and to register, click here.