Minimalism Series
An exploration of what is needed and what can be removed.
At the height of the 2020 pandemic, I started experimenting with my illustration style as a way to combat my anxiety and depression and accept the slowness and quietness that came with the shutting down of the world. I started asking myself how I could convey stories through my work without distraction to reflect the pause that the world was experiencing. I started experimenting with how I could combine simple lines, shapes, and colors to communicate a central concept at its most basic level.
The following are a selection of the pieces that came out of that exploration.
“Sister - Same/Different”
I have always been so fascinated by the idea of sisters, how they can come from the same history, yet be so different.
I wanted to commemorate the bond of sisterhood in this piece - our likeness, or differences, and the relationship we build through our shared experiences.
Digital / 2020
“Shift”
A celebration of shifts - in attitudes, in mindsets, in behaviors through aging.
We shift so that we can come into our whole selves more fully. This piece is a representation of those shifts that we experience in life so that we can become our fully realized selves.
Digital / 2020
“Scattered”
Digital / 2020
“Together”
Solidarity moves us forward.
Digital / 2020
“Head-Heart Speak”
Digital / 2020
“Regrowth”
Remove dead blooms.
Restore and re-grow.
Digital / 2020
“Seeking Refuge (Hmong)”
My parents came to the US in the 70s to escape the worn-torn country of Laos during the Vietnam War.
My identity as a child of refugees has always been so integral to my story. I carry the pain of a people who lost their homes and livelihoods, but I also carry the triumphs of a culture that adapted so that it could thrive in a new and strange land.
I have the blood of fighters, but I have the soul of dreamers, too.
Digital / 2021
“Hu Plig - Soul Calling”
It’s an old Hmong spiritual belief that one becomes sick when their soul leaves their body.
In my culture, we ring in each new year by calling the souls of our family back home so that they may start the year whole, with mind, body, and spirit in tact. This ceremony is called a “hu plig peb caug”.
This illustration depicts the moment when the body greets the soul back home. Because it always will.
Digital / 2021
“Breathe - Stay Afloat”
Digital / 2021
“Tidal Waves”
We can practice how to calm and soothe ourselves.
We are made of water. We can ride the waves.
Digital / 2021