Imagery, to me, functions as a more malleable and open-ended language to pass on information than written contents. Before we learn to speak, we understand the world through our senses. I am specifically interested in the sense of sight, and its ability to shape belief, to persuade, and to deceive. Propaganda posters with distinctive political realization and children’s book illustrations, though seemingly unrelated, share the same mission of ideology formation. In my work, I merge the elements from these visual traditions to form a familiar yet unsettling composition that evokes a sense of suspicion.
The subjects in my paintings stem from my childhood encounters with miniature figurines used in sandplay therapy, a Jungian “World Technique” designed to help children express their inner experiences without words. By playing with these artificial figures and translating them onto canvas, I interrogate modes of metaphor and allegory within my own narratives. I see my work as undefined scripts, or the grey areas that reflect the viewer’s own experiences and projections, instead of a delivery of fixed and didactic messages.
Through staged scenes with symbolic colors and dramatic lighting, the depicted “protagonists” in my work become emblems of belief. Hints of humor and satire manifest my exploration of the dystopic alternatives. As still images, the paintings open possibilities for interpreting a sequence, a moment suspended, yet suggestive of what comes before and after. Together, these elements form a visual language that illuminates how stories are engineered, and how they quietly shape the realities we accept.