BFA Portfolio
Portfolio of works at the University of Washington, Seattle.
Film reel created as part as a TA for the Photo/Media program.
Sanity is an audio and visual experience based on my experience with having Tinnitus and Pulsatile tinnitus (PT). Inspired by the Odesza album, A Moment Apart, the opening soundtrack is sampled from a movie called ANOTHER EARTH. The audience gathers on the floor around a pulsating light that synchronizes with the video being projected onto white wall. The end of the video leaves audiences confused whether the piece is finished or not and that’s the thing with tinnitus, it’s never really gone.
Tele is an over the top art installation guided by guest artist Steve Kado’s class. 10 black and white prints were installed onto a wall with a projector on a pedestal projecting this video over the images creating an illusion that the photos are able to change colors. This video was played on a 24/7 loop for a week in the basement of the University of Washington’s art building. The audio haunted the basement for a week and tormented anyone who wandered into the basement after hours. This project went through so many iterations but in the end, Mr. Kado preached that it didn’t matter what anyone else thinks as long as the artist is happy and satisfied with their own work.
All is Well is an audio/performance piece done in a pitch black concrete room with a single camping light in the center of the room. This audio piece is played from a portable speaker attached to the camping light. Words of affirmation can help those feeling lost on their journey but the wrong words make matters worse. This project is dedicated to close friends who have lost their fight to depression and suicide in recent memory.
Gook is a project tackling the human rights issues in Vietnam as well as the appropriation and prejudice towards Vietnamese Americans. This was an interactive art installation where the audience members are given an opportunity to tag the art piece. The toxic fumes of the spray paint in a closed environment made people feel uneasy which ultimately represents the topic at hand. The music piece is played in the background during the performance. Incorporating the audience has always been a key piece to my art as it represents an opportunity to educate.
Soufend and Quê Hương is a project addressing the topic of gentrification in South Seattle and how it affects the communities there, more specifically my hometown community, Vietnamese Americans in the Holly Park area. Gentrification (a process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more affluent residents and businesses.) is a topic most often overlooked at when it comes to social issues and human rights. This project was displayed at the Jacob Lawrence gallery at the University of Washington from May 14th, 2019 to May 25th, 2019. This turned into an interactive piece for the general public to participate in from the two physical photo-books to a 20”x30” framed print that people could sign and leave messages for the represented community.
Việt Nam is an art installation installed in the basement of the University of Washington’s Art Building, this project addresses human rights issues prevalent in the country. The vanilla folder contains confidential documents leaked on the internet about the prisoners of conscious in Vietnam dating back several years, the Vietnamese government are doing all they can to censor and eradicate evidence of their unjust treatment of the Vietnamese people. This project was meant to educate the American public and has effectively done so. The images hung from the ceiling are dedicated to those people unjustly prosecuted and jailed by the Vietnamese government.