I’m so happy to announce today– on the first day of the AAPI heritage month that I have been selected as the winner of the 2024 Noguchi Banners Project for my series: “Hands Toward the Universe”. My 10 feet banner designs will be displayed in front of the museum from May 2024– May 2025. This year’s theme is on labor and love, and in my banners I explore the joy of exploration through different processes of creation. Like I’ve always said: illustration could never be a means to an end. It’s always about the world we live in.
I also want to congratulate @jacqueline_qiu and @derekzheng_ for their wonderful banner designs as well. To read more on the projects and the artist statement, I’ve created a link in my bio!
Growing up, and even to this day, it has been an ongoing battle and struggle for me—an up-and-down process of trying to repress and control my emotions in order to better optimize myself in relation to the world around me, that I can be seen as a functioning, normal adult.
Over the past year or so, however, with the help of my therapist, I’ve been learning to embrace those emotions and sit with them, and sit in the discomfort that they bring me.
I’ve also been really inspired and encouraged by @andyjpizza ‘s Creative Pep Talk to visualize my emotions as different characters—to see them as separate and distinct parts within myself, much like in Inside Out. Drawing this parade of my emotions as characters was fun, but also gave clarity around emotions that once felt complicated and indecipherable, and it’s helped me stop judging them as simply “good” or “bad”!
Today is Kit Records’ last show on NTS after 15 years of running. I was lucky to get to know Richard around 2021/22 over the airwaves and in the NTS chat rooms. I’m not a musician, but I’ve always been drawn to the label’s openness in merging illustration with its music. The label’s visuals worked so well with the music, and I knew I wanted to get involved somehow.
Over time I’ve taken over many of the visual aspects of the label, as well as hosting music-focused drink-and-draw events. It’s really been an honour to have both Richard and Pete at Kit/Swims Records trusting me to art direct and illustrate so many cool things. I’ve been able to experiment with many styles and formats for all kinds of music and events, and it’s always been inspiring to work with them on projects, since I’ve gotten to learn so much about the London music scene, as well as getting an inside look at how a music label functions.
Time goes by so fast, and it’s amazing looking back at all the things I’ve made for the label. I’ve actually now garnered quite a collection of work from it.
Even though Kit Records is leaving NTS, I’m glad the label is very much living on across different platforms. This is merely another milestone, and I’m reallt looking forward to doing more drawings, hosting more illustration events, and bringing more illustrators into Kit in the future!
Had the absolute pleasure to make 7 illustrations for this month’s Going ons spring preview for The New Yorker out this week. Thank you Steph for the art direction.
Another year, another window painting for @abacusrow ! It’s always such a treat coming back into this space while they prep for Lunar New Year installations and festivities! Thank you Christine & the crew for welcoming me with open arms every time and @omguac for providing these incredible illustrations, we’ve been screaming “horsie” for days 🤭🧧🎊🐎🧨✨
Keep posted on @abacusrow for their beautiful window displays and events coming up, they stay having fun activations & pop-ups! We have another surprise collab with them as well 😇❤️
Some assets and brainstorming materials that didn’t end up making it for meowvelous 貓下去 in Taipei. Still very proud of them though, it was fun. Thanks to @bitostudio for entrusting me and inviting me to participate in the process.
一些台北貓下去的素材、雖然最後沒有被採用、但整個過程真的很好玩。也特別感謝 Bito 對我的信任，並邀請我一同參與這次的創作過程。
