Growing up, I was forced to follow a “practical” route and was never encouraged to take an art class until my senior year of high school. But once I finally began, I found my voice with desperate focus. The majority of my pieces were created in an all-out, self-taught burst during November and December of this past year. This condensed period of explosive growth shows my deep commitment and my stamina for rapid, independent learning when I finally enter a formal studio environment.
In my current practice as a self-taught multidisciplinary artist, my artwork showcases key themes of duality, escapism, and memory, which is deeply rooted in my upbringing as a Japanese-Filipino-American artist in Salinas. Duality appears through visual contrasts between anime-stylized figures and realistic forms, representing the tension of growing up between cultures and environments. Escapism and memory functions as a recurring motif, depicting an adolescent mental state of fantasy and imagination tied to a specific moment in time. These elements are profoundly inspired by Japanese visual culture and personal experience. Anime and Manga influence my use of stylized patterns and otherworldly environments expressing movement and variety while supporting the main focal point. This focal point often takes the form of realistic portraiture, referencing my friends and the way I connect them to my abstract imagination.
In this piece, the boundary between the physical body and the ‘otherworldly’ mind becomes full motion. I intentionally limited myself to black in pens only, to highlight every small detail within the patterns. Inspired by the intricate beauty of mechanical parts, I wanted to illustrate the chaotic mental process of a track athlete, each detail and symbol representing everything built up and dedicated within that exact moment of consciousness. The central figure acts as the core of this biological engine, while the sprinter portrays the raw velocity of the race itself. Together, they exist within a clockwork landscape of gears and circuitry, surrounded by objects within the athlete’s mind.
