Concept Art & Illustration
As childhood fades and the room of wonder empties, the lava floors of our imagination cool, leaving us to grow into the giants we once marveled at—only to find reality barren of magic and monsters.
Yet, as we uncover fog-shrouded corners of the map we call earth, how is travel not the evolved form of adventure? The world unfurls like a textured canvas, waiting for us to fill its gaps with imagination, rediscovering the joy of wonder and the beauty in simplicity.
Here is my series "Odyssey", inspired by fleeting moments and experiences from my travels.
Muse Award Gold Winner: "Journey" "Vista" "Crossing"
Vega Award Silver Winner: "Journey" "Vista" "Crossing"
Creative Quarterly Runner up: "Vista" "Journey"
Crossing
During a midnight hike in Kyoto with my best friend, where we ascended through endless Torii gates under the moonlight. The mountain was hushed and slightly eerie, with only the rustle of leaves and the watchful gaze of fox statues to accompany us. Halfway up, we encountered a girl descending the trail, dressed in a luminous kimono and carrying an umbrella on her shoulder. She was absorbed in her phone, yet her presence felt distinctly otherworldly, as though she were a modern embodiment of a Japanese goddess. In that fleeting moment, I felt a childhood dream fulfilled—a brush with the divine that logic might dismiss as ordinary. Yet, I prefer to see it as proof that moments of magic still exist, hidden within the everyday.
Journey
This piece envisions a whimsical road trip through Joshua Tree, where I ride a Vespa alongside my imagined dog. While rooted in the memory of a carefree weekend stay in the desert, the painting ventures beyond the constraints of reality—escaping bumpy roads, searing heat, and the inevitable limitations of time and space. It reflects a longing to reclaim the boundless freedom of childhood stories, where journeys defy logic, and the world unfolds as an endless playground. Through this work, I seek to capture the essence of untethered exploration—an ode to the places we dream of reaching when the barriers of reality dissolve, and adventure knows no bounds.
Vista
I was in Hong Kong during a brief stopover at the height of COVID. Restricted by my yellow health code, I couldn’t enter buildings, which forced me to view the city from a distance—a rare perspective I wouldn’t normally take. Observing from afar, I was struck by Hong Kong’s unique energy, where gravity seems to defy logic, and the city’s architecture feels both weightless and chaotic, like a perfect sandbox of possibilities. Inspired by this layered, almost surreal urban landscape, I reimagined Hong Kong as a playground of exaggerated proportions—where buses soar higher than skyscrapers, and every structure is stacked like a game of Lego.
Farewell
"See this highway? Looks ordinary, right? But 50 years ago, there were no roads here. I lived in a stable by that exit, and the land was full of wild horses." These words from my high school bus driver during a field trip stayed with me, making me wonder what we've lost in the march of urbanization. In this piece, I imagine a young girl bidding farewell to her horses—symbols of freedom and spirit—as they dissolve into clouds, leaving behind a world fenced in by tourism and urban sprawl. With silvery tones depicting the horses as divine and fleeting, I sought to capture the quiet grief of losing something irreplaceable. Among my works, this piece feels the most poignant—a farewell to the sacred and untamed.