Artist Statement

My work explores the tactile processes of both motion picture film and fiber to address the themes of cultural identity and the Asian American experience through repetitive processes and imagery.

 

I seek to bridge the gap between the nature of fiber-based techniques and time-based film. Whether reflected literally or figuratively, my work is driven to investigate the nature of these two mediums and their connection rooted in the presence of physical human touch.

 

The processes I employ—shooting analog footage, hand-manipulating surfaces of film, screen printing 35mm photos, painting and sewing—reflect my strong inclination toward sustained manual techniques and presence of the hand. As a result, the final work I create mimics my emotional fascination with the handmade and interest in cultural archive to externalize the internal experience of compulsive techniques. This manifests formally through

montage, recurring patterns, and repeating groups of color or text. Reconstructing my own cultural identity is a large inspiration for my work.

 

What are the nuances between ancestral self and reconstructed self? As I quite literally splice and reassemble archival fragments of myself, how do these deliberate actions call to the grappling of Asian American identity?