Artist Statement
Much of my work stems from the idea of the personal as political. Whereas politics usually engage with issues on a societal scale, I believe that the politics of the individual can have a profound impact on daily life. How we choose to treat each other, how we listen to others and share our beliefs—these can become catalysts for social change. In creating works that engage with the world in this way, I hope to put forth the human aspect of political issues, to spark meaningful dialogue between people, and to facilitate unforeseen ways of thinking.
But the question remains—how does my practice engage with these lofty ideals? The answer to this lies in the subject matter of my work. By re-engaging with forgotten historical moments, the Japanese Internment for example, my work seeks to call into question the collective foundations upon which we base our personal belief systems. Similarly, my work often magnifies the mundane in an attempt to reconfigure the overlooked into something larger. In using everyday objects such as a dirtied dinner plate or a discarded vacation snapshot as the subject matter of my work, I seek to transform them into something poetic, something that suggests a larger narrative beyond the boundaries of the frame.
The works I create, spanning film/video, photography, social practice and installation, vary greatly in form and subject matter. Yet while the final manifestation of each work may differ, I believe that as a collective whole they present a complex, nuanced, yet unified voice—a voice borne out of my own personal experience growing up queer and Asian American in the suburbs of Detroit.
Back to About the Artist
Curriculum Vitae
Press Clippings |
