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Featured Works
Body and Soul
Artist Statement: This was a self directed piece to express the idea of the soul being too big for the body to hold. What a person looks like is only a small fraction of who they are, and the amount of thoughts and feelings inside them are larger than anyone can tell just through outside observation. The flowers represent the inner workings and aspirations of the person trying to grow, and they are able to escape while cracking the person’s figure. I chose to include this work in my portfolio because it expresses a concept that I think everyone feels at some point in their life, but not one that I’ve seen spoken about before. I would like anyone who views the piece to be able to see their own spirit as something wonderful and worth exploring, even if it feels like too much to handle at times. To prepare for the work, I went through several drafts of the flowers emerging in different ways, such as along the spine, did a few quick studies on cracks in different types of material, and also took photos of myself as reference.
Unity
Artist Statement: This piece reflects the harmony of people of different backgrounds coming together, shown in the butterflies with different languages on the wings as well as the colors of the hands bleeding into each other. The painting relies on the vibrant colors to show beauty when all the shades are used, as well as the arms looking like the branches of a tree, a symbol which has often been used to express peace and growth. I chose to include this work in my portfolio because I hope that it’ll provide positive outlook on the future, especially in a time where many people feel divided over all different kinds of topics. I prepared for this piece by taking photos of various hand poses and finding languages to implement onto the wings of the butterflies.
Mind
Artist Statement: For this piece, I wanted to show the feeling of being able to be on your phone, and why it makes time go by so fast. I thought of this piece when I heard a speaker that had been invited to my school say that we often turn to our phones in moments of uncomfortable emotions, such as sadness, boredom, or anxiety. It becomes a reflexive way to block things out. I think this is an experience that almost all people have experienced to some extent, but are unable to capture the feeling of well. I wanted to express this feeling and include it in my portfolio so that viewers can see something they go through be visualized, and help them better understand why it’s easy to turn to devices. The drawing depicts the feeling I have when I get stuck on my phone, where it creates a safe bubble for me to ignore and forget the other things I have to do, giving me an often too long break from reality. To prepare for this piece, I looked through other artworks that inspired me and drafted out how to frame to composition, then gathered reference photos.
Consumption
Artist Statement: On a trip to a rural city in China during an internship, the other interns and I were invited to eat lunch by the government. The city was one of the poorest there was in the country, but we were still provided a large meal full of different foods. However, midway into the lunch, many people at the table started disregarding the food in favor of using their phones, and we ended up leaving a lot of the dishes unfinished or completely untouched. I wanted to depict this concept of consuming the content online instead of the food given, with the two characters both doing this despite being from different generations. I hope to bring attention to what can be missed when using a device, and that we can accidentally disregard things that others do for us and the circumstances we’re in when we get wrapped up in the phone. I chose this piece because it’s something I saw in real life that happens constantly, and I hope that through painting I can somewhat make up for the food that we wasted. To prepare for this piece, I took several photos of the food leftover when we were done for reference.
Childhood
Artist Statement: I chose to do this piece on the personal experience of wanting a happy childhood. Childhood is one of the earliest things someone experiences and it’s entirely out of their control, even as it paves the way for the rest of their life. Despite the importance of this period, many do not receive the foundations they need and end up with experiences that may cause them to be affected negatively. It’s a common theme that those who don’t have sufficient time, love, or support in their youth have trouble finding them later on, missing out on a key part of development. After one grows up in this sort of circumstance, there may be a struggle of wanting to be able to experience a better childhood, although it is now impossible to turn back the clock. I wanted to depict this struggle in this piece by showing a figure pinning and taping a small version of herself down to a child’s drawing. The drawing isn’t a real photo because the figure is attempting to place herself in a situation that never existed, and the small version is struggling against it because of the knowledge that she has to move forward and find her own path. I prepared for this piece by gathering reference photos and finding a drawing I did as a kid to derive off of.
Other Works
Children's Book
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