“I have always gravitated towards creativity, it almost feels instinctual to have this drive.”
“At first, I was inspired by Van Gogh’s Starry night in kindergarten. I looked at a poster of it every day in class, but when I learned about his sad life story, I didn’t want to be an artist.”
“I thought art would only lead me to a life of sadness but that’s not how I felt when I made art. I felt free and euphoric; it’s that feeling that kept me coming back to explore. My art is where I felt I was beginning to understand myself.”
“I lived in a diverse community of immigrants but it felt even less validating that even within diversity, I still felt so unknown—so I didn’t get into reflecting my cultural identity in my art until after art college.”
“I had to explain to every new friend, teacher, and generally everyone who asked what Laos is and where it is on the map.”
“What drove me through art school is desiring a sense of belonging.”
“I often didn’t feel like I had a place in this world because of my queer identity as well, so art was a form of healing and understanding myself that I practiced to survive those tougher years of adolescence and young adulthood.”
“I would say a big mentor in my life was my art teacher in high school. Her name is Katherine Wallestad. I also had a wonderful high school art teacher named Jennifer Bruck. These teachers nurtured a sense of self worth in me and through that I could flourish and dream big enough to help others feel that within themselves too.”
“My ultimate inspiration and goal in my work is to nurture a sense of healing in others. ”
“The 270 Million Project is one of my biggest projects right now. It consists of 270 abstract ink paintings inspired by Lao music, fundraising to help remove Secret War bombs from Laos.”
“I collaborate with Legacies of War to help advocate and educate about the bomb removal/history. I would tell myself beginning the project to think longer about how it will hang. It’s been some trial and error but I’m finally coming to a better install system for it. What I learned from this project is to think about the impact of a project before starting it. Who will it help and how will I do it?”
“Moving from Falls Church, VA to Brooklyn, NY would be one of my biggest decisions I’ve made to pursue my creative career. It was stressful because I moved within the pandemic but the pandemic got me thinking that I want to live in NYC in my 20s before I feel tired in my 30s.”
In the next 3 to 5 years I will publish my graphic novel ‘Origins of Kin and Kang’ about my bisexual coming out story and continue following what makes me happy in my work.”
“However, I’m not fond of having a 5 year plan because it stops people from living in the present.”
“A perfect day to me looks like how I spent my 27th birthday. I went to a black trans youth lives matter rally, visited the zoo, bought tickets to go to the aquarium and basically planned fun things to do the rest of the month. I really like to use my birthday month as a time to indulge in play. I love city adventures and spending time with friends.
“I embrace Lao culture by doing things that make me happy. I love that Lao culture is about being together and sharing happiness.”
“I’m Lao, Viet, genderqueer, bisexual and fat. Nothing is black and white for me and I think it’s beautiful to be on a gradient of experiences. Because I have a lot of identities, I can offer a range of perspectives.”
