My motivation to create this portfolio comes from a desire to explore my life experiences and the struggles I have faced in my attempt to live as a normal American teenager, while still upholding and respecting Chinese cultural standards imposed by my parents. I seek to relate my darker personal thoughts in an effort to peel back the layers of my character through interpretations of Carl Jung’s four theories of persona; the shadow, the anima/animus, and the self. I believe that seeking self-knowledge and understanding oneself is a cathartic process, allowing one to grow and mature honestly and with intention.

I strive to create images that resonate with my audience and strike universal chords through the combination of clean photography juxtaposed with often chaotic manipulations of the printed photographs. These manipulations include physically marring photographs with a knife and combining other media such as paint or clay in an effort to illustrate the imperfect inner-self hidden beneath the surface. My images arrive in a relative chronological order following realizations throughout my lifetime, some stemming from childhood lessons, some from moments of self-reflection, and others from hardships I’ve faced. (2020)

Using these explorative self-portraits I turn away from understanding external factors which have built me and shifted more towards looking purely internally at my fundamental beliefs that have shaped me. (2021)