Broken Facets
Process Portfolio
Process Portfolio
Turbulent
Turbulent
Medium: 24x36 in.
Size: Oil paint on canvas
Year: 2022
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Being Asian in a Eurocentric world has influenced various aspects of my life. Society has taught me to think White faces are the beauty standard: a dainty nose, pale skin, and big eyes. This European ideal has leached into my culture, as East Asian countries implement a culture of skin whitening and eye surgery, changing the biological features of the face to meet the definition of what is beautiful.
This East Asian influence, in conjunction with the American ideal, has burdened me to become something I am physically not. The piece ‘Turbulent’ visualizes the turmoil of grasping my Asian identity in a White-dominated culture by depicting myself sitting in a room with a distinct, European flair while wearing a hanbok, a traditional Korean dress. To further imply a clashing of tradition, I utilized hyperrealistic oil painting techniques developed by the Renaissance Masters to depict my Asian character.
Star Stare
Star Stare
Medium: 16x20 in.
Size: Oil paint on canvas; Lights
Year: 2022
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You see her eyes. She may be avoiding your gaze, but she is aware of the attention that she is receiving. Her star-like freckles light up in the presence of pupils—in the presence of people. But when you leave, her freckles stop glowing, leaving behind the mundane lights and somber expression. She is aware that there is no being to entertain, no human to laugh with, and no person to be with. She’s alone.
The human gaze is represented by light. When light shines upon the canvas, the LED lights start glowing. But when there is a shadow cast on her, she will stop glowing.
It’s a simple mechanism that adds dimension to this piece. The dynamic quality of the character shines through with the ever-changing lights on her face, as it shows how humans crave love and attention.
To be looked at by people who want to listen and engage, to be someone that is worth perceiving—that is what everybody wants.
Ripped up Flower Field
Ripped up Flower Field
Medium: 24x30 in.
Size: Oil paint on canvas; Thread
Year: 2022
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Climate change is a prominent problem that shines at the forefront of both politics and science. Waffling between improving the Earth and earning their bottom line, big powers threw this issue on the consumers’ laps for them to solve. Many of the solutions that citizens can take advantage of are inefficient unless implemented on a large scale; there is only so much impact we the people can have by recycling bottles and cans, but we are still blamed for the ever-decaying Earth. Yet, it is the fault of big corporations for the blazing fires in the sea. Only power and money can implement solutions to stop the cracking ozone layer. That is the message I convey in ‘Ripped up Flower Field.’ The metaphorical rips that slash through nature can only be patched up with money. Individuals are doing their best to mend the wounds; now it is time for the biggest offenders to use their power for good.
From the Divine
From the Divine
Medium: 24x30 in.
Size: Oil paint on canvas
Year: 2022
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I was always jealous of those who could hear God. They said they waited in silence until the clear voice from heaven graced their ears. My impatient self rejected that notion, but someone told me that my voice was actually the voice of God. I internalized that belief.
I tested my thoughts every day, asking silly questions and getting answers in my head. It was all fun and games until I spiraled. I asked about my friends, my emotions, my identity until the only answers were human-generated responses, sentences, and phrases developed by me; yet I still hung onto the belief that it is God who is speaking because I longed for objective answers.
This frustrating experience is the center of From the Divine. In the midst of ocean silence, I trick myself into thinking that those voices, those sounds, those commands are from the divine, but they act more as intrusive thoughts that infiltrate my mind; the noises inhibit me from finding peace to the point
Time will Run
Time will Run
Medium: 30x40 in.
Size: Oil paint on canvas
Year: 2022
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“I wish there was a way to know you were in the good old days before you actually left them.” That is a quote from the last episode of The Office, and that is the ideology I internalized during my youth. I held my breath whenever in good moments as I feared the regret of not enjoying that moment. As a result, all my attention went to grasping those minutes rather than living those minutes.
As I’ve gotten older, I learned to live in conjunction with this fear. I know those minutes will fly by and there will be a bittersweet end, but I keep on smiling. Time will run, but memories live on.
This piece is an evolution of myself in the face of time. The memories I lived for and the moments I long for have all been condensed into a surrealistic sequence of color and light. My past can't handle the running scene; she wants everything to stop, expressing her broken nature of not wanting to let go, but present me is not bothered by the melting room: it’s inevitable, after all.
Worker Fish
Worker Fish
Medium: 14x10 in.
Size: Watercolor on cold-press paper; Gold leaf
Year: 2022
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You grew up as a middle-class citizen: a house, a car, and an education at a public school. You are destined to work a 9 to 5, a desk job that requires nothing but sitting and staring. But with the volatile job market, maybe all you can be is a fast food worker. You get paid for constant oil burns and rude customers with a few dollars, barely covering the rising cost of housing.
Being a worker in society is inevitable. We are trained to follow directions, whether ethical or not, for the advantage of the upper class. You are only a pawn to billionaires who own 90% of the wealth; after all, this world is built upon the pursuit of money.
But what if you went against the grain? What if you went against the rules of society, the structure it was built upon? What if you start protesting for better wages, develop unions, and become the voice for the workers? There will be roadblocks and pain, but it will forge a better path for everyone, and don’t you think that’s worth it?
Gushing Spirit
Gushing Spirit
Medium: 14x10 in.
Size: Watercolor on cold-press paper; Gold leaf
Year: 2022
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Spirit, passion, love. To be in love with what you do is like dancing across green prairies and leaping into glistening waters—it is a joy that people seek in the journey of life.
You utilize your finite efforts to put forward the best product, your best self—creating what was never known before. Exerting force, spending hours, and sweating droplets to pursue your passion is what you feel you are destined to do.
Sometimes this spirit gushes out, but instead of gold and silver, you see red. You hit a wall that boasts an array of needles, piercing your vulnerable mind with criticisms, insults, and no breathing room. It’s the pain of overdoing what you love, a step into the inevitable burnout that causes you to bleed. To do what you love, but at what cost?
Mailbox
Mailbox
Medium: 14x10 in.
Size: Watercolor on cold-press paper; Gold leaf
Year: 2022
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Schedules, dates, critiques, suggestions, favors, compliments, and my own thought—so much of my mind is occupied by information, necessary and useless. Sometimes, my brain gets overwhelmed with intrusive thoughts delivered by the ones closest to me. I wonder if I made a good 100th impression. I ponder if my words came out wrong during lunch. I worry if my existence has bothered the people around me.
These statements come into my head like spam mail, just like a mailbox.
‘Mailbox’ shows the intrusive and suffocating nature of these thoughts. Unable to stop the overflowing letters that come into my mind, it’s no wonder my head is packed. Each message is hand-delivered—or they feel hand-delivered; no matter how heartbreaking or untrue those statements are, I still take them to heart.
Home
Home
Medium: 14x10 in.
Size: Gouache on cold-press paper
Year: 2022
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Home means different things to different people. It may be the roof that your family bought after the Great Recession. It may be a friend’s house where Catan and Monopoly are always sprawled on the floor, or it may be the classroom where your robotics team comes together to build something amazing.
Inspired by ‘Nighthawks’, a painting by Edward Hopper, and the ‘Grapes of Wrath,' a novel by John Steinbeck, ‘Home’ depicts a diner in the middle of nowhere. The diner is a staple of American culture; it’s an integral place for daily routines, whether in the morning or the night. The vibrant teal-colored diner is stationed in the California desert, under the midst of the swirling twilight sky. The ethereal experience of being where you belong, no matter how random the location may be, brings saturation to an otherwise dull experience.