~into
Into, marking a transformative shift in my practice, became my most challenging piece since graduation. Just like how one enters into a Buddhist temple and finds one’s self, I entered my internal and emotional space through this painting. It was an attempt to look inward and meditate on the psychological effects of chaotic cyberspace. The obsession with news seems to be derived from my anxiety for control. This obsession is translated into the manipulation and alteration of images digitally, which becomes the foundation of the paintings I create. This painting depicts an existence in flux, simultaneously disassembling and reassembling. Through this process, I let go of how the painting might read to others and instead focused more on the progress of making the painting.
Beginning in the summer of 2023, I've been painting Dhritarashtra, a protecting god of the East and a guard of the temple who defeats evil alongside the other three gods of the West, the South, and the North. The god’s frightening imagery seems to refrain people from entering the holy site of the Buddha and divide the spiritual practice into the good and the evil. The guard who protects the ethical border became a symbol of how I invite others to look at my paintings. Instead of controlling how it is perceived, I chose to subtract expressions and focus more inward. The subtraction of expression impacts perception because the process of subtraction equals the retrospection or reflection of one.
While I digitally collaged images, I juxtaposed the state of Dhritarashtra with the statues of Manjushri, Samantabhadra, and Buddha—Buddhas of the Three Ages. Then, I divided this amalgam of Buddhist figures by separating its color configurations into Red, Green, and Blue—a color model that the pixels of electronic systems display. Through this process, this being, both human and godlike, possesses a generous heart and humble strength, seeking to offer comfort to others. Driven by a pure and affectionate intent, it evolves from a simple and noble existence into a space that invites and holds others with open arms. The way the painting is excavated—light strokes and multi-layers of pigments and paints—indicates the characteristics of the painting, its delicate and welcoming nature, and inviting ambiance.
Once solid and compact, the entity expands and transforms into a world. Surrounded by fragments and residues of human activity, it holds itself together, waiting for others to do the same. This once-unchanging, stagnant being—much like a person—is unraveled and loosened, becoming soft and woolly, creating space for someone to exist within it. In doing so, it evolves into a world.
Beginning in the summer of 2023, I've been painting Dhritarashtra, a protecting god of the East and a guard of the temple who defeats evil alongside the other three gods of the West, the South, and the North. The god’s frightening imagery seems to refrain people from entering the holy site of the Buddha and divide the spiritual practice into the good and the evil. The guard who protects the ethical border became a symbol of how I invite others to look at my paintings. Instead of controlling how it is perceived, I chose to subtract expressions and focus more inward. The subtraction of expression impacts perception because the process of subtraction equals the retrospection or reflection of one.
While I digitally collaged images, I juxtaposed the state of Dhritarashtra with the statues of Manjushri, Samantabhadra, and Buddha—Buddhas of the Three Ages. Then, I divided this amalgam of Buddhist figures by separating its color configurations into Red, Green, and Blue—a color model that the pixels of electronic systems display. Through this process, this being, both human and godlike, possesses a generous heart and humble strength, seeking to offer comfort to others. Driven by a pure and affectionate intent, it evolves from a simple and noble existence into a space that invites and holds others with open arms. The way the painting is excavated—light strokes and multi-layers of pigments and paints—indicates the characteristics of the painting, its delicate and welcoming nature, and inviting ambiance.
Once solid and compact, the entity expands and transforms into a world. Surrounded by fragments and residues of human activity, it holds itself together, waiting for others to do the same. This once-unchanging, stagnant being—much like a person—is unraveled and loosened, becoming soft and woolly, creating space for someone to exist within it. In doing so, it evolves into a world.
From the temple where my grandfather rests now-
