As a young artist, when China was beginning to open its doors to the rest of the world, I was attracted by the freedom of artistic expression represented by the rebellious art movement known in China as “The Stars”; whose work can be characterized as strongly individualistic and critiquing society and politics of that time. In 1987, I immigrated to the US with the big dream of seeing the world and becoming a great artist. Pretty soon, I realized that dream was going to take a long, long time.
Struggling to make a living during the day, I attended English as a Foreign Language classes at night for a few years before I was able to enroll in some college art classes. Eventually I got into the MFA program at San Diego State University with a focus on painting & photography and a passion for cross-cultural experience and identity. Hiccups in cross-cultural understanding were a daily experience: for instance, when people are greeting each other in China, they often say, “You have gotten a bit fat!” The meaning is, “Life has been good for you.” But this is taken as insensitive and insulting if I were to say that in the US. Another example is that bats symbolize blessings and good fortune in China, but they become terrifying vampires in Western culture. Many of my artworks were inspired from similar shifting contexts and changing perspectives from East to West and back again.
After graduating in 1997, I moved to Chicago, Boston, and then Portland, Oregon–three cities, three years. Over the years, I have taught art classes and worked on commissions, but didn’t forget my artist dream. I tried to show my works in as many places as possible: community colleges, art centers, galleries, and art fairs. Some were successful, others not. But the real outcome of those efforts is that I have developed a strong body of work that takes a personal perspective on issues like how different cultures contradict and influence each other and how collective memories about family, cultural history, and immigrant experiences shapes one’s identity. This body of work is my main source of pride as an artist.
I have taught studio art at the college level, given talks on art and culture at PSU and Lewis & Clark College, and was a visiting lecturer in Creative Methods in the School of Art and Design at Beijing Industrial University. In the past several years, I also began teaching art to children. These classes are mainly focused on interactive projects to boost their creativity and self-expression. We have a lot of fun together and, on the side, I sneak in basic artistic skills. My goals are to nourish their confidence, explore new ideas, and find their inner artistic potential.