My latest series "Lucid Dreams" investigates my shared experiences living abroad as an immigrant and the psychological experience encountering two distinct cultures.
I believe that landscapes play a vital role in shaping our perceptions and experiences of our environment. They evoke cultural and political connotations that can influence our thinking. One example of this is WuYue, which translates to “China's five mountains”. These five mountains each have their own unique character and rich cultural associations. I have never visited these mountains, yet I still feel intimately connected to them, just as others may feel about Yellowstone or the Grand Canyon in the U.S. My work is an exploration of this intersection between two cultures and landscapes, and how we process these experiences as outsiders.
In "Lucid Dreams," I have interwoven my personal experiences with the natural scenery of the United States and China. I attempt to understand and convey those meanings of landscape and find my own place between the two types of landscapes and cultures. I used the five mountains of China as photo negatives to create these cyanotype landscape prints. With these prints, I then create new topographies of the American landscape, based on a historical American Photographer John K. Hillers’ work. The use of cyanotype as my medium is deliberate, as it represents the ephemeral and variable nature of life and memory. Life is transient, and memory is fleeting, just like the colors of the cyanotype prints that change depending on the exposure time.
Within my practice, I aim to highlight that our experiences of landscapes are universal, and not just about the physical surroundings, but are also shaped by cultural associations and personal memories. My artwork is a reminder to consider these factors when exploring different places and cultures. I hope my work inspires the viewers on their own experiences and see the world from a new perspective.
