AP Art Portfolio
DIVERGENCE
My brothers at ages 4. They were inseparable, but never indistinguishable.
AMERICAN DREAM
This painting represents my brothers multicultural background. As a Chinese-American who has spent most of his life in the USA, I see many cultural influences in him. This scene is of my brother at a baseball game eating the largest hot dog he could find.
UNADULTERATED
My senior year prom date and best friend, Anuli, never wore dresses. She is featured here, just before the dance, as we both prepare to step outside.
NATURAL BEAUTY
My cousin was 2 1/2 when she first started playing with make-up. She was neither encouraged or discouraged to put on make-up, so she must have been influenced by observing the older women of our family. Her gaze shows the formation of her ideas about self-image and what it means to be beautiful.
UNBOUNDED
My dad and my grandmother have always been close. He balances his responsibilities to her and the rest of the family with a love and playfulness that cannot be contained by age or changing life circumstances.
A KISS FOR THE CAMERA
Cameras give us the capacity to take self-portraits easily and repeatedly in a way never before possible. And yet, instead of signalling our diversity and difference, many subjects adopt the same appearances and poses, reinforcing social norms, and, for young women, gendered beauty standards.
EMOTIONS
I wanted to capture a moment of my friend expressing her mixed emotions while the calmness of the rainbow was hitting her face.
NO MORE
When my brother was younger, I could pose him however I wanted for my pictures and paintings. Now, he is growing up and less amenable to my direction. This image is him in a moment of irritation and resistance.
SUCKLING
I wanted to capture a moment of growth in my little cousin who recently stopped breastfeeding. I am interested in exploring her growth as an independent being while capturing her innocence.
SANDMAN
The Sandman is a mythical creature that makes people dream. This painting shows my grandmother in a deep slumber after a long day of work. Even in her dreams, she still worries about her family.
PHILIA
Philia is the greek work for "love between equals." I wanted to capture this virtuous form of love between friends by showing my friend hold up a heart with her hands. In the background is an amorphous figure--the object of the love--which represents the idea of a "friend."
LOSS
A capture of a girl who, moments before, had been playing with water in the shower. She did not want to stop and wept as she stepped out. A child, she prioritized her self and her joy in a way that sometimes feels incomprehensible to adults.