artwork.
This is a dedicated page to show off some of my artwork. Originally, I was a dedicated traditional artist, who used pencils and paper to flex my creative juices rather than the digital materials I use now. I'm a rather humble person, but I will say I have gained quite a few praise worthy accomplishments – both in college and grade school. Just within three years of high school, I won several prestigious awards and exhibited work in a few gallery exhibitions. My close friends and family will vehemently say I was blessed with an artist's talent. They'll reminisce about ever since I could hold a pencil I was drawing, outclassing even adults as a toddler with my skill – "stick-figures were for schmucks". Whenever I was asked what I wanted to be when I grew up I'd chirp, "an artist!," and the adults would nod their heads as in "ahhh yes, of course as expected~." Now I would say I slightly diverged from the original path of the artist I thought I'd be in the traditional sense, but my work related to advertising is still considered artwork but for a different means. During my senior year in high school when I, like many others, were at "the crossroads of destiny" and choosing the futures we wanted to pursue, I originally applied to schools as an art major or was accepted at prestigious art schools like Parsons and Pratt. But as my final year in high school was coming to a close, I decided that traditional fine art was not my calling, but I still wanted a career where I could be artistic and creative. After much contemplation, I believed the advertising studies at Temple would allow me this benefit and I can thankfully say it was a good choice! I loved what I learned and I explored a new creative area I never considered before, which is why you are here looking at the work I've built over these college years. But I found my old artwork may still help represent a different side of me that my advertising work does not, which is why I'm exhibiting it here. All this artwork was created during my sophomore and senior years of high school (age 15-18). My technical skill level was valued, but I found more pleasure drawing whimsical and concepts from my imagination rather than lemons in a bowl. I wanted to explore a concept and relay it in my art, not for just my own satisfaction but also to elucidate others on it as well.
What both my advertising and previous artwork have in common is my mastery of illustration to elucidate either a message or ambient feeling I want to promote.
the
one child policy
project.
The fruition of my desire for advocacy + my identity as a Chinese adoptee x my artistic abilities. I wanted to understand myself. I wanted to teach people. I wanted to explore something I never had before... My adolescent life in high school by far is my most formative experience. Not because high school is THE reigning period of every person's life like Hollywood movies make it out to be. For me rather, it introduced me to the intricacies of my identity I had barely understood, nor considered, before. I became more aware the intersectional aspects in my life that warped my reality. After living abroad and coming into contact with a greater Asian community, I came to the realization about the significance of my adopted status. Moving back to the U.S., I was once again ostracized when a biology class project required students to track down a genetic trait from their familial descendants. A spot light was once again pointed at me, soloing me out against the rest of my peers. The teacher suggested that I instead research into my adoption and the historical significance of China's One Child Policy, which is one possibility behind my abandonment. I delved deep into the research with enthusiasm because I had never considered it something I ever needed to know. It was my Pandora's box. And like Pandora's box, opening it introduced me to all the perilous evils the policy's establishment gave rise to. The articles and testimonies I read left me deeply conflicted and horrified, the imagery evoked sometimes being too nauseating I had to take breaks from reading. It burned such a profound impression on my 15 year old self that I was unable to shake. Soon after I was required in art class to create a series of pieces exploring a specific concept of my choice. I struggled to find something that really compelled me to create so enthusiastically, but then it hit me and a smoldering fire that would soon blaze passionately was lit. I felt further obliged to enlighten others about China's One Child policy through my art, revealing a more compassionate/relatable conceptual image – apart from the cold-monotonous textbook's retelling. I was determined to create art that illuminated the grim history and its plausible effects on the people involved, but I also hoped it consecutively proposed a greater moral reflection for the audience. The series of artwork elaborates on various emotional sensations in differing contextual perspectives (the POV of the mothers, unborn children, the solo child, etc. but with greater focus on the maternal experience of confusion and despair). While the project was mostly a passion project for a class, I wildly underestimated how successful it became. Most notably, I won a prestigious gold key award from The Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. “The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards are the nation’s longest running and most prestigious recognition program for creative teens in grades 7–12.” The imagery and concepts dealt with here were very controversial, especially for the rural conservative area where I live in Pennsylvania. As such, the judges unfortunately did not progress my gold award winning project to nationals. A hard pill to swallow when a fellow student, who also received a gold key, was progressed forward and received a national award medal for a watercolor landscape painting. While I may have lost the war for presence in the Scholastic Awards, my work was presented in my high school's annual magazine edition. According to insider knowledge, the board in charge was divisive on whether or not my work was appropriate to feature in the magazine. Teachers and students who knew me and the depth of this artwork profusely contested this notion and won. I'm flattered how my artwork resonated with those willing to lend an ear and they were willing to fight in its defense. This project was likely a semi-conscious therapeutic way of finding myself, exploring my complex and chaotic emotions on the matter. But my initial intention was to become a voice for others who don't have one. I originally wanted to leave an impact, no matter how small – and it seems like I have. Hopefully it leaves you feeling the same way...
the
one child policy
project.
The fruition of my desire for advocacy + my identity as a Chinese adoptee x my artistic abilities. I wanted to understand myself. I wanted to teach people. I wanted to explore something I never had before... My adolescent life in high school by far is my most formative experience. Not because high school is THE reigning period of every person's life like Hollywood movies make it out to be. For me rather, it introduced me to the intricacies of my identity I had barely understood, nor considered, before. I became more aware the intersectional aspects in my life that warped my reality. After living abroad and coming into contact with a greater Asian community, I came to the realization about the significance of my adopted status. Moving back to the U.S., I was once again ostracized when a biology class project required students to track down a genetic trait from their familial descendants. A spot light was once again pointed at me, soloing me out against the rest of my peers. The teacher suggested that I instead research into my adoption and the historical significance of China's One Child Policy, which is one possibility behind my abandonment. I delved deep into the research with enthusiasm because I had never considered it something I ever needed to know. It was my Pandora's box. And like Pandora's box, opening it introduced me to all the perilous evils the policy's establishment gave rise to. The articles and testimonies I read left me deeply conflicted and horrified, the imagery evoked sometimes being too nauseating I had to take breaks from reading. It burned such a profound impression on my 15 year old self that I was unable to shake. Soon after I was required in art class to create a series of pieces exploring a specific concept of my choice. I struggled to find something that really compelled me to create so enthusiastically, but then it hit me and a smoldering fire that would soon blaze passionately was lit. I felt further obliged to enlighten others about China's One Child policy through my art, revealing a more compassionate/relatable conceptual image – apart from the cold-monotonous textbook's retelling. I was determined to create art that illuminated the grim history and its plausible effects on the people involved, but I also hoped it consecutively proposed a greater moral reflection for the audience. The series of artwork elaborates on various emotional sensations in differing contextual perspectives (the POV of the mothers, unborn children, the solo child, etc. but with greater focus on the maternal experience of confusion and despair). While the project was mostly a passion project for a class, I wildly underestimated how successful it became. Most notably, I won a prestigious gold key award from The Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. “The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards are the nation’s longest running and most prestigious recognition program for creative teens in grades 7–12.” The imagery and concepts dealt with here were very controversial, especially for the rural conservative area where I live in Pennsylvania. As such, the judges unfortunately did not progress my gold award winning project to nationals. A hard pill to swallow when a fellow student, who also received a gold key, was progressed forward and received a national award medal for a watercolor landscape painting. While I may have lost the war for presence in the Scholastic Awards, my work was presented in my high school's annual magazine edition. According to insider knowledge, the board in charge was divisive on whether or not my work was appropriate to feature in the magazine. Teachers and students who knew me and the depth of this artwork profusely contested this notion and won. I'm flattered how my artwork resonated with those willing to lend an ear and they were willing to fight in its defense. This project was likely a semi-conscious therapeutic way of finding myself, exploring my complex and chaotic emotions on the matter. But my initial intention was to become a voice for others who don't have one. I originally wanted to leave an impact, no matter how small – and it seems like I have. Hopefully it leaves you feeling the same way...
