1. Tell us about your practice?
My research interests are drawn from contrasting emotional states and how they can be expressed in glass, a unique artistic medium. I also explored playfulness within my creative practice by taking a kitschy approach in developing my glass artworks. I am inspired by Kidult toy culture and adultescent playing behaviour which I use to inform my work.
I will never forget the moment when I saw art glassmaking process for the first time, beautifully glittering in flames. That awoke a strong passion within me and led me into the field of glass art when I was a desk-based office worker dreaming of a creative pathway.
2. Tell us about your materials and techniques?
I’ve developed a unique body of glass artworks which combine glass blowing, engraving, and coldworking techniques. I think glass is a narrative medium that embodies the notions of revealing and concealing. Viewers can see what is placed inside glass due to its transparency. In contrast, it is difficult to see inside through the exterior when it is opaque glass. Also, glass is sturdy but fragile at the same time. Thus, glass is the perfect artistic medium for me to narrate the fragility of humans and their emotions through its transparency to condensed opaque.
I’ve been taking an interdisciplinary approach to develop my artistic work by combining two different disciplines of Graphic Illustration and Glass. Through this approach, I can develop my art from a creative, hybrid perspective which is different from traditional studio glass artists.
3. What inspired the work you are presenting at Collect 2023?
I would say people hide their true feelings in order to live harmoniously with the community in modern society, which a think I often have. My personal reasons for hiding true emotions are social pressure and microaggression from everyday interactions and craft space in the UK as an Asian minority female.
People may have their own ways to remove stress, but for myself, collecting and playing with dolls is my natural vent to throw out true feelings in contemporary society. I feel relaxed and happy by playing with dolls and collecting toys. This personal experience led me to develop new aesthetics and values that reflect the ‘Kidult’ toy collecting culture.
4. Tell us about a special detail from this new body of work?
The detailed engraved images on each head and body of the glass dolls! They represent my dark emotions caused by microaggression. Each glass doll is blown glass overlaid using three colours with the Swedish overlay technique 'Graal', hand-cut onto vinyl, sandblasted and then finally engraved.
5. What do you hope the viewer will take away from this work?
My glass dolls were made to show expressing a dark theme in a playful and joyful way. I hope my artwork not only gives the viewers a feeling of playfulness but also encourages them to think about microaggressions that generally happen through implicit bias.
6. Last thoughts on your collection?
The idea of engraved images and used colours for glass doll sculptures were adapted from my daily journal and drawing, which are mostly filled with my furiousness and depression caused by microaggressions. And then the kitschy aesthetics of Kidult collectible toy has been added.
