About the Exhibition

When I make my art, I usually get inspiration from my experiences and emotions. It is probably because I am quite an emotional person. Many of my artworks are more about my negative emotions rather than positive emotions. I believe it is because I get rid of my negative emotions by spilling them out on the paper, or canvas. Whenever I felt depressed in late nights, I felt like I needed someone to listen to me. Then, expressing what I felt on paper helped me feel better. Making art is a way of expressing my emotions. Especially because I am an introvert, I don’t usually tell other people how I really feel. I feel like it is easier to be honest when I am telling my stories to audiences without face to face conversations. Recently I have noticed that my artworks have an overall theme of emotions and empathy, as I try to communicate my emotions to other people.

The two materials I most like to use are watercolor and acrylic. I guess in the future I might find interest in other materials, but for now paint is the material that I can most directly express my emotions with. 

When I want to draw how I feel, I usually pick watercolor as my material. The characteristic of watercolor is that even the light layers and watermarks decide the atmosphere of the painting. One wrong brushstroke on a watercolor painting, and you can’t even edit the mark. To me watercolor paintings feel similar to myself, because even the slightest change of atmosphere affects my emotions. 

Acrylic is also paint, but it is very different from watercolor. While watercolor is transparent and has a flowing mark, acrylic paint leaves brush strokes and it is thick. Of course painting with acrylics with lots of water would give transparent layers, but it is different from the transparency of watercolor. I use acrylics when I draw my experiences. They are usually communicated through a self portrait with some related objects around me. Acrylics lets me draw detailed parts since once it is dry it doesn’t come off. When I draw with acrylic painting, I like to add layers over layers. It feels more lively that way. 

Recently, I have been making 3D sculptures and installation works. Using clay to make myself was interesting, because it was like drawing my portrait, but in 3D. Clay was interesting because I could easily give the contrast and shapes I couldn’t express well in paintings. I plan to make more 3D work in the future. 

As I mentioned, my artworks are about personal stories. However, since they are about everyday life, I hope that viewers of my exhibition could also feel the emotions I felt while I was working on them. My goal is to have a conversation with the viewers through my artwork. I want the viewers to look at my art and have a feeling that he or she knows this emotion. Although currently I can’t achieve my goal due to lack of experiences and skills, I will try to do better and better.