Mixed Media
mixed me·di·a
/ˌmiks(t) ˈmēdēə/
noun
-
the use of a variety of media in an entertainment or work of art.
Self-Made Icon: Not for Your Consumption, Grandeur Facade, and Unrecongnizable
2025
Mixed Media
16 x 24 in each
These works play with the idea of turning identities into an icon, bright, over-the-top, and surrounded by symboliam that represent things we see in pop culture and today's society. The frames exaggerate each work like a decorative shrine. I wanted each piece to feel fun and bold, but also honest about how identity gets shaped by culture, memories, food, media, and self-perception.
Threaded fate
2025
Watercolor/ Mixed Media
30x22in
“Threaded Fate” is a mixed media series that uses watercolor, embroidery, and yarn to delve into the deep symbolism of hair within Vietnamese culture, exploring its connections to identity, memory, and generational legacy. Hair, in this context, becomes more than a physical feature—it is a living archive, a vessel that holds the stories, struggles, and triumphs of generations. Through carefully embroidered ribbons wrapped around strands of hair, the piece reflects the passing of control, tradition, and care from mother to daughter, forming an unbroken, matrilineal thread that binds the past with the present.
The delicate nature of the embroidered ribbons speaks to the rituals of care and the expectations placed on women within Vietnamese society. These ribbons represent not only beauty and tradition but also the weight of cultural expectations. Yarn, flowing freely through the main body of the hair, adds a dynamic quality to the piece—suggesting both the entanglement of generational pressures and the vitality of individual expression. The yarn’s movement embodies the tension between honoring tradition and forging a personal identity, emphasizing the complexity of this duality. Through the soft washes of watercolor, the work evokes the fluidity and ephemerality of memory, while the tactile threads of embroidery and yarn introduce texture and depth. This juxtaposition of lightness and heaviness mirrors the emotional landscape of reconciling one’s personal identity with the legacy of heritage. “Threaded Fate” asks viewers to reflect on the things we inherit, the burdens we carry, and the aspects of our cultural identity we choose to reclaim or redefine. It invites an intimate exploration of how tradition is not just inherited, but lived, and how it shapes, constrains, and liberates us in equal measure.