NEW YORK At a gallery in Brooklyn, spherical glass suspended in the air by fishnets from a Japanese antique store look like beachcomber finds. The orbs are meant to resemble Japanese ukidama, glass balls that are fixed to fishing nets to prevent them from sinking. Inside each orb are works that symbolize artist Emma Sulkowiczs Chinese, Japanese and Jewish identity.

The exhibit, called Floating World, or ukiyo in Japanese, is a reference to the hedonistic atmosphere of pleasures like kabuki theatre and bathhouses from the Edo period of Japan, spanning the 17th to the 19th century. The word also refers to sorrow and grief.

Sulkowicz, who identifies as femme and whose pronouns are they and them, is best known for Mattress Performance, their senior thesis. During the 2014 school year, Sulkowicz carried a mattress everywhere with them on campus as a visual reminder that their alleged rapist, a freshman athlete who was found not responsible by a university inquiry, was still on campus. That same year, 23 other students filed complaints alleging that Columbia mishandled sexual misconduct cases.

Sulkowicz, a New York native, says theyre now focusing on exploring both race and gender through art by depicting what it feels like to be an Asian-American person and to often feel like an outsider.

I realized so many things were related to being an Asian woman. I didnt report it all because Im Asian and told not to have emotions and just be successful, they told HuffPost. Now Im having my first show that explores where race really intersects with feminism.

One of the more commanding pieces of their exhibit showcases a banana sliced with a knife, a subversive statement on both gender and race, Sulkowicz explains. The piece is dedicated to their sister and contains a video of her cutting the banana and designating it a phallic symbol. The banana also represents the Asian-American experience.

Banana is a term for Asians who are too Americanized. Thats a source of vulnerability, Sulkowicz said, explaining that the knife cutting through the banana comes from a place of anger as well.

We identify ourselves as angry Asians, they added. Other people do, too. In some ways thats a powerful tool. But in some ways and tones, thats a way of dismissing our anger. Its kind of a dismissive term, and so many Asians are liable to dismiss themselves. Theres a lot of racism we have to deal with. Why are we angry Asians? It comes from a place of being stepped on. There is a level of invisibility we have.