Artist Statement

Printmaking is the lens through which I translate lived experience into visual language. As a self-taught artist, the medium became a space of personal discovery—an intuitive process of carving, testing, and learning through touch. It allows me to give form to emotions that are often fleeting or intangible. Many of my prints begin after an emotional peak or a moment of stillness—an image, sensation, or memory that lingers until it begs to be carved. My goal is always to uncover the truth of a feeling and render it with clarity and intention.

My practice works with rhythmic repetition, bold contrast, and the interplay of positive and negative space. Each block is carved entirely by hand; the physical irreversibility of carving mirrors the permanence of the experiences I depict. Each cut is a decision that cannot be undone, making every trace of the hand a part of the work and a reminder that beauty often lives in imperfection. Every line becomes a record of both emotional and physical labor.

As a first-generation Chinese–Vietnamese artist born in New York City, I have always existed between cultures—shaped by traditions I inherited and a city that raised me. Growing up, I often felt slightly unmoored from my own heritage, navigating the space between my family’s history and the multiracial, multilingual world outside our apartment. Like many first-born children of immigrants, I learned to create meaning in the gaps.

Printmaking has become the place where those pieces gather. It is a medium that allows me to return to my inner child while reconnecting with the symbols, motifs, and visual language of my ancestors. Through carving, I access memories and cultural touchstones that were never explicitly taught to me but somehow lived in my body—guardian lions, mythical creatures, auspicious forms, flowing linework. These motifs become a bridge between past and present, diaspora and homeland.