I am an artist and designer whose work explores the narratives and experiences of the war refugees. I explore materiality through traditional painting and jewelry design to create art that encapsulates the power of storytelling for those who have lost livelihoods to war, to begin anew.
My work explores the genres of family, nostalgia, memory, love, and loss, inspired by the experiences of my family, who moved to the United States in refuge during the fall of their home country, South Vietnam. Together, they pass down stories of their life before and their journey leaving one country for another. These experiences are similar in the narratives of all families who share this situational trauma, as conflicts continue throughout the globe.
I incorporate technology into the process of traditional handcraft. However, I find the relationship between handcraft and materiality to be equally important to my narrative. After a model is 3D printed and cast, it continues to develop by hand with dremels and saws. I want to maintain the balance of tools, traditional or digital, throughout the result, and most importantly the process of my work. The result, like the Inro Pendant, gives a very intimate and dynamic form of art very closely entwined with the concepts of sentimental and material value and the relationship to the body.
I am fascinated by observing what drives the livelihoods of families influenced by very different situations than my own. My work is a nod to my family history, though I want to reach those whose families share the same or similar narratives. I hope my work brings those with similar experiences together while sharing those stories with those who have not been exposed to them before.
