About this work:

This is a mixed media painting with sculptural elements made with clay, casein, wax and image transfer. It adapts the image of an old lithography print of mine based on a dream I had when I was studying in Chicago. At that time during COVID, I had a strong longing for nature that I kept having dreams about. In the dream, I was in a botanical garden, and I walked on a spiralling staircase without end. Born and having lived in China for 18 years, staying in the US under these circumstances had alienated me from the environment. I see the stairs as a constant search for a place of my own, yet the spiralling never ends. Now that I’ve moved to Chile after graduation, I face a similar circumstance again that brings me back to this imagery, yet this time, the image is part of my body. This constant search for a safe place has become a part of myself and shaped my identity. The continued act of search is a reflection of ‘self,’ that I will always walk on the spiralling stairs even if there’s no end. However, ‘Spiral up’ also implies a conscious positive shift from the cycling circumstance. In this work, my heart has taken a spiral up.