STATEMENT OF WORK

Being genuine is a huge part of who I am. My work is created from a raw and truthful response to how I feel in the moment, mediated through materials and self-reflection. I create work that continues to allow me to reflect on my state of mind and respond spontaneously. My ideas flow when I am alone. I intentionally create this time to ask myself “What is pressing?” I then sketch out these ideas by incorporating Chinese proverbs from my childhood memories. I find a balance between the personal and the humorous, while exploring vulnerability. When I am creating ceramic sculptures, I detach myself from the subject matter, and I enter a meditative mode. As the piece grows, I let myself feel and see the process as well as sprinkle new elements throughout the work. I accept new ideas and introduce them to the piece. Through my arts practice I wish to expand my ability to tell stories, reach a wider audience and share the struggles created by growing up exposed to both traditional Chinese and Western culture. I felt repressed and silenced during my early stage in life. I want to create characters that represent the different stages of my life, moments when I felt entrapped in a domestic setting, and moments when I felt liberated as a young Chinese Canadian woman artist. These sculptural works will feature ceramics, as well as textiles, rice paper covered in resin, gold lustre, and metal solder. The raw emotions I incorporate into my narrative sculptures represent the transformation of a young girl who did not know she had a voice or a place to speak because of the restrictions in Chinese culture. I hope my work will continue to affect others, encourage people to seek help if needed, join a community where they could form kinship and feel empowered and safe