“‘Remembering it's okay to cry’ is reflective of the transformation of my perception of myself, post college. Growing up in a patriarchal Asian American family, values of being stoic and reserved were heavily implanted in my upbringing. However, the last few years of my life, I have slowly learned to be more vulnerable with myself and with a handful of people around me. The small enamel pendant in middle slowly breaks overtime as it rattles within the confines of the box it lives in. I learned over the years that I do not need to be perfect and unmoved. Rather, I can be proud to be the imperfect and proudly queer version of myself.

‘I'm sorry’, considers my own guilt with current events. At times, I feel as though I am culpable for the deplorable state of the world due to the mere act of existing without actively making change in the world. The phrase ‘I'm sorry’ is meticulously sawn out of metal and stamped onto the surface of the painting as a therapeutic process to deal with my own tendency to be overly apologetic for anything that happens around me. Rather than repeatedly repeating an apologetic phrase, slowly sawing and filing the letters considers the genuinity of a particular phrase I use if I only use it as a means to alleviate guilt from myself in that instance. Overall, ‘I’m sorry’ considers the shift in my attitude from one that places guilt and shame on myself to one that allows me to feel empowered for change."