My father solicits tongue photos to show to Chinese medicine doctors, in hopes of finding a remedy for my chronic illness. Sometimes, expressions of love are rarely verbalized, but might instead be encoded in the exchange of inadvertently goofy iMessage selfies.

I utilized panels whose dimensions emulate the ratio of an iPhone screen, foregrounding how our primary modes of communication and connection are now mediated by technology – which is especially the case with my father, who lives an ocean away in the bustling capital of China. When installed, the piece is hung vertically, one panel directly above the other, to evoke the image of a scrolling text thread. To depict the white background display, I employed gestural, slightly translucent brushstrokes, retaining hints of the orange underpainting glowing from beneath. This textured effect contrasts with the opaque, flat text bubbles and the precise, mechanical rendering of the letters. By explicitly revealing the artist’s hand, I invite a more human encounter with this piece than what can be afforded by an impersonal, computerized display.