For a long time now, my paintings have found a constant and underlining subject of humans with color and identity remaining a constant theme. I prize color for its powerful symbolism and employ it to communicate emotion and mood. My works manifest through human-like figures that are abstract, linear and colorful that are taken from the whimsical world that I have created from my own imagination, experiences, and long periods of reflection. I have always painted from self-experience, using family, men, and my travels as inspiration. My works are vibrant as it masks my typically painful and personal experiences in life. As a stranger once told me, “the goal in life is to be happy” and to that my work inhabits freedom through its unsymmetrical forms, chaotic streaks, brilliant hues and intentional imperfections in the composition that allows me to express my reality of the imperfect beautiful life that we each are graciously given. Each piece is an imprint of my identity, using my fingerprint on each dot that decoratively completes my works.

As a mixed child from a Chinese mother and American father, my childhood was a melting pot of culture. Moving around several different cities, I was exposed to a myriad of cultures and traditions that has subconsciously influenced my works – a confluence of both eastern and western traditions. I always find myself drawn towards rich and dense cultures, specifically Middle Eastern and African, as I strongly believe it is due to my parents’ passionate love of collecting masks. 

Growing up my parents collected masks from all around the world. They decorated the house with their collection and placed a countless amount of them in the dining room. Every time I sat down at the table, masks surrounded me. From every corner of my vision, masks were there. Their collection served as a token or souvenir to remember the country or city. Each mask held their own identity, meaning, and culture. A unique identity to each their own. 

At the end of the day, very few of us are in touch with who they truly are at their core. We wear masks every day to move through our external surroundings, protecting us like armor. Sometimes, we wear more than one mask. We have the right to not expose ourselves entirely to the world. But we better know who we are so we aren’t playing hide and seek with ourselves. At that point, we have just lost. Keep your mystery. Wear your mask, dress it up, dress it down, play it however you want. But embrace it. Get comfortable with it. Be true to yourself. Before you put on your mask, remember who you are underneath. By grasping this concept we then can remove our mask and we are simply left with thought and perception. With my artwork, I ask you: what mask are you wearing? Can you see your mask?