ART PORTFOLIO
selected pieces 2017 - 2023
Themes
Body, Forms, Behavioral Economics, Environmental Economics, and the Market
A Solitary Reverie
Fabric, Ink on Paper, Video
2021
Sleep is a poetic process during which our brain relaxes. We feel detached from the world: our thoughts dissociate and become more arbitrary. However, these thoughts are also more real, leading us to a quest of self and an elevation of mind.
This project is an experiment of anti-painting. On the meadow near a forest, I poured paint on a piece of paper, a space that represented the liberty of exploration endowed by sleep. I slept on the paper. Instead of me as an artist, the paint took over the agency: it flew around my body. In the rain, surrounded by the impartial nature, I took a nap in a baptism.
Exhibition: Université de Bordeaux, Montaigne (France)
Self Portrait of Water
Photography
2021
In this photograph piece, I used a common theme of water and glass to constitute a singular portrait that includes three pictures.
In the first picture, Magritte's Sheherazade becomes my mask. Having lived in three continents, my identity becomes complex. I always carry a “mask” to show or hide something. The painting of Western modernity contrasts with the atmosphere of the Chinese restaurant. The round, smooth glass is filled with water, implying the fullness of culture in my identity.
In the second picture, the glass represents my identity that is transparent and multifaceted. Transparency -- because I express myself directly. Multifacet — because I constitute dualities, represented by the half-filled water. Additionally, the glass symbolizes how the world sees me through facets, with preconceived notions. I look through to question stereotypes. The nature behind represents an inclusivity of my dualities.
In the third picture, I demonstrate a duality of life and death. Bamboo, which means growth in Asian culture, is in an empty glass without water. Death and life coexist. Nature contrasts with the background of industrialized, timeless modernity. I watch this society that seems eternal to me through the empty glass.
Mirror
Acrylic, Video
12” x 16” x 1/2”
2021
I painted my portraits in two different color tones. Then, I cut the portraits and glued the strips on folded paper to create an illusion.
The color blue and the color red represent two sides of me, a duality. For example, I am passionate but patient, and I am courageous but also calm. Consisting dualities create harmony. As I move the portrait to different angles, you can either see one side of my portrait, or when the two merge into one. The combined portrait shows a difficulty to define myself, but the merge is more real.
This project also questions the gaze of the viewer, as their vision is limited by their angle. Perhaps, I can choose which side I want to show in front of the world.
Collective Traces
Installation
30" x 30"
2022
Hair, growing from one's head, represents extensions of thoughts. For this installation, I collected hair from various people through economic sourcing. I searched for volunteers for whom I would offer a free haircut. When cutting, I splitted hair layers as if I were splitting layers of thoughts. We had conversations -- their thoughts metaphorically became part of the art-making. When all the hair is mixed into this piece, the individual identity is diminished. Everyone becomes homogeneous in a collectivity. In economics, we simplify people into a single collectivity because individuals tend to make similar choices, sharing pre-established conventions. Even though it seems like hair("thoughts") is light and flexible, in truth, it moves around in society, following patterns almost in a forced manner. The white tiles are like waves, ambiguously indicating certain directions. The collective "thoughts" are constrained into rigid "grids." Even if individuality is diminished, certain personal tendencies can be enhanced by in a collectivity.
Ecocentric
Installation
50”x 50”x 150”
2022
I used welding skill to make this piece about people’s egocentrism in making economic decisions. When we make these decisions, we usually see ourselves as a reference point. We assume others to have the same preferences and prioritize our own satisfaction. The train and the shadow both represent that no matter how far-fetched the decisions we make are, they always branch from our own confirmation, influenced by our upbringing, habits, and culture. Looking from above, the shadow is like a clock, a common motif in my behavioral economic pieces. The clock symbolizes trade offs across time. Many of the viewers told me how they felt disturbingly hurried by the rhythm of this clock. Without the walls, the shadows that reflect the center would not be that big. This piece challenges people to step outside of their “walls” while considering their decisions.
Externality Market
Plastic waste, wood, fabric, video
3' x 3' x 7'
2023
Production results in negative externalities if it leads to extra costs for parties outside of the market. For example, when a company produces bottled water, it also produces plastic pollution as a byproduct, affecting the health of those who may or may not buy the water. In this case, plastic is a negative externality. This installation, Externality Market, reflects economist William Nordhaus’s idea of an externality market: by adding a price to the negative byproducts, firms and customers realize that pollution is not a free material.
In Externality Market, I am selling plastic externalities to gallery visitors. When a client “buys” a plastic waste object, instead of paying me, the client will be paid because the negative cost of the bad byproduct is passed to them. Between the shelves, the video delivers an instruction to the shoppers. The shoppers’ reactions contribute to the project. They are part of the art and the experiment. The shopping experience and the absence of cashiers make the social experiment more realistic – I expect to observe variations in behaviors and infer deeper cognitive beliefs.
The objects' transparency ironically evokes the lack of transparency in today’s long production chains, or the chain of materials used in the processes behind the creation of every industrial product. The pecuniary reward attempts to challenge conscience.
Small actions can result in big-scale consequences, especially in collectivity. All the externalities create a collective identity of our community today: high commercialization, and high waste production.
Behavioral Economics
Installation
40" x 60"
2022
This installation consists of sculptures about different theories in behavioral economics. Everything can be seen as part of an installation or as an individual sculpture. Behavioral economics combines psychology and economics, presenting many concepts that are intuitive or misleading for individuals who make decisions. I am interested in creating behavioral economics to bring clarity and critiques to these concepts. A central motif I bring up in all my sculptures is time because time represents exclusivity. Time is central for decision making as it involves trade offs: when it is spent on something, it cannot be spent on other things. Thus, this installation is a collection of clocks — all non-functional, challenging the boundaries of design and fine arts.
Bounded Rationality
Clay, glass
6” x 6” x 10”
2022
In Behavioral Economics, the concept of Bounded Rationality explains how humans face limits when they make decisions, such as lack of information and enough time to research everything. For example, one wants to buy a camera. Not being an expert of photography and having limited time to ask others, they would likely not end up buying the best camera with the qualities that please them the most. According to this theory, humans do not make optimal decisions that result in maximized satisfaction, but decisions that would satisfy them enough.
This sculpture includes a cap on the top that consists of different rulers made of clay: a straight ruler, an L square ruler, triangle square rulers, and a protractor. The glass container below consists of the same rulers, but broken with cracks. Clock hands lay on the bottom of the container. The sculpture explores how bounded rationality creates an incongruence between traditional economics that optimizes every decision and reality that is constrained. The transparency of the container shows that humans acknowledge the conflict between optimacy and imperfect decision. In traditional economics, individuals have time and all the transparent information so they can maximize satisfaction. Traditional economics guides their decisions in reality but cannot dictate their life.
Choice Overload
Clay, Metal
8” x 8” x 3”
2022
In Behavioral Economics, the concept of Choice Overload speaks of humans’ limit to consider all the choices available, and make the best choice. In contrast, traditional economics assumes every individual to be aware of all choices, and everyone allocates themselves to the best choice.
The sculpture consists of a clay base, with nails drilled on, and clock hands sticked on. It is an anti-function clock that does not run. Everytime a hand turns, it would either get stuck into a crack or be blocked by a nail. The clock hands represent our pace and time moving forward. As we move, we face many choices as obstacles. We either stop and ponder if the matter is important, or we “jump over” to move on, unable to deal with everything. The sculpture demonstrates this trade-off dilemma not presented in traditional economics.
Confirmation Bias
Plastic, Wood, Metal
5” x 5” x 12”
2022
In Behavioral Economics, the concept of Confirmation Bias explains that humans tend to collect and interpret information that reinforce their prior beliefs. For example, individual A likes a Brand. When they see a cheap product of the brand, they would think: it is cheap because the Brand does a good job in lowering production costs, which eventually benefits customers. Individual B, who does not like the brand in general, would think: it is cheap because the quality is not good.
The sculpture consists of a flask cut open on the bottom and flipped. Many clock hands of different forms, width, and length go into the bigger hole. Uniform, white clock hands come out of the smaller hole on the bottom and penetrate the display surface. The sculpture underlines the force of confirmation that turns various “evidence” into a one-directional “conclusion.” At the same time, it challenges the validity of data collection in economics, adding weight to those responsible for interpretation
Anchoring Bias
Plaster, Wood, Metal
14” x 14” x 14”
2022
In Behavioral Economics, the concept of Anchoring Bias means humans anchor decisions around a reference point – information that they receive first – and adjust their decisions relative to this reference point.
This non-functional clock sculpture consists of a plaster base, uniform wooden hands, and two mirrors that reflect the quarter of the clock to make an image of an entire clock. The symmetry of the structure shows how we are constrained by the reference point, and cannot depart too far from it. In contrast, in traditional economics, individuals are not influenced by first impressions. They consider everything anew as they make new decisions. This sculpture challenges us to break from the reference point when making decisions.
Utility Maximization
Plaster, Wood
7” x 7” x 8”
2022
In traditional economics, Utility Maximization means individuals maximize their satisfaction when making all decisions. With trade-offs, this can mean choosing to do something and forgoing others. In the installation, this is the frontmost piece because it is the central goal of economics. Behavioral economics observes obstacles that prevent us from achieving utility maximization in reality.
This sculpture consists of a plaster base and standing clock hands. The clock hands are ordered from the biggest to the smallest, explicitly showing how we choose things that give us the most utility, or satisfaction, first. Individual-wise, utility maximization affects the economic actions of everyone. Socially, however, in traditional economics, policy makers prioritize decisions that bring out the most satisfaction aggregated in society. Unfortunately, they may ignore the welfare of minorities. This sculpture shows the rigidness in adding values to different levels of satisfaction.
Optimism Bias
Fabric, Metal
10” x 30” x 4”
2022
In Behavioral Economics, the concept of Optimism Bias means that humans tend to underestimate the probability of negative events happening in the future and overestimate positive outcomes. For example, stock buyers tend to be more optimistic about future gaining than losing from their stocks. This optimism could drive them to make wrong decisions, such as falling into the speculation of the stock market.
This sculpture consists of a furry fabric base, fabric clock hands, and a manufactured clock on the top. The softness and lightness of fur show how optimism makes one light-hearted and flexible. However, its lightness also signifies the instability of over-optimism. The hard, cliche smiley face clock, an industrial product, contrasts with the soft fabric. Its stare implies the harsh reality of optimism bias – leading to many failures of projects in the economy. Traditional economics does not count for human tendencies and emotions. Behavioral economics identifies how emotions can reduce the ability of estimation and decision-making.
Speculation
Plaster, Wood, Metal
20” x 20” x 7”
2022
In Behavioral Economics, the concept of Speculation is associated with Optimism Bias. Speculation usually implies that people trade in financial markets, but high-risk products, and expect for a high-return. The majority of people overestimate their chance of actually gaining.
The sculpture includes a plaster base, eight wooden sticks that stick out from the top, and clock hands at the end of each stick. It shows the amount of choices we face everyday, and the hardship to make a choice. It critiques speculative behaviors driven by desire
Research Drawings
Speculative Bubble
Oil on wood
24" x 24"
2022
I explored speculation, a topic in behavioral financial economics, in these two pieces.
Perpetual Motion in Economy
Oil on wood, mixed media
18" x 24"
2022
Birdish Mind
Oil Pastels on Paper
8" x 12 "
2021
In my self-portrait, I used the elements of birds. Birds represent me because they embody the freedom of thought and lack of barriers. As an artist, I see how freedom collides with chaos in my mind. Through these collisions, I discover new facets of myself.
Music of Love
Mixed Media
5" x 7"
2020
I combined organic shapes and lines to express the comforting power of music that brings excitement and inspiration to listeners. I also explored the intersection of the visual and the auditory senses.
Living House
Cardboards
10" x 10" x 16"
2020
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This interactive work consists of an abstract structure and an arrow-shaped finder (flashlight). Participants can use the finder to create shadows for the structure from different sides. Only at one angle could the shape of an abstract house appear on the wall. The work reveals the uncertainty of finding a living place and the difficulty of defining a living space in underprivileged areas. Furthermore, it evokes the economic and identity inequity people could experience in these areas.
* Note: ironically, the form of this sculpture was inspired by "Music of Love," the previous piece.
A Corner of a Kitchen
Charcoal
32" x 29"
2018
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By focusing on a crowded corner of a kitchen, I wanted to emphasize the importance of seemingly trivial things that comprise our daily lives, in which we may find different but interesting perspectives.
Digital Album
Acrylics, Paper, Wooden Frame, Digital Editing
6" x 8" x 4"
2018
I remembered an article about how using digital devices to save photos diminishes people’s memory. Because people lack the motivation to remember, they rely on those memory agents. My work is a device that retains memories just like an album. However, the device blurs the memories of those who use it. Relying on this device, people cannot retain sincere emotions and clear feelings for those around them. The album evokes the tendency of loss in a digitalized world.
Dynamic Emotions
Acrylics
7.9" x 78.7"
2021
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I explored the linguistic connection between space and emotion by expressing two extremities: "high" and "low." The long painting is like a spectrum, in which I varied colors, forms, movements, and textures to create different rhythms. The spectrum shows the unstable and constrictive quality of defining adjectives: perhaps, we put too much definitive power in them.
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Exhibition: Université de Bordeaux, Montaigne (France)
An Untitled Series
Block Printing
15" x 7"
2017
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This series documents my exploration of pure geometric shapes, space, and textures, exuding a sense of calm and expansion.
Kandinskian Puzzle
Foam Boards and Hard Paper
7.9" x 7.9" x 1.6"
2020
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I made Kandinsky’s art style into a puzzle toy. Volunteers could interact with this art product. With art commercialization today, this interactive piece reveals how viewers tend to dismiss artwork’s original value and content. However, they would also gain creativity and form communities by appreciating art.