Bamboo, burlap, garden mesh, masking tape, rebar, weather tape, zip ties

2021

2021 Emerging Artist

An abstracted version of a Lao sticky rice basket.

I’m a Tai Dam / Lao artist but the only way I’m able to relate to my culture is through food.

I make work that deals with uncomfortable topics such as one-on-one conversations, culture clash, introspection, and longing as to confront and transform these issues into something more optimistic and open.

Sometimes I think about interchangeable Asian cultures in that I can relate to Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam but they also feel foreign even if my skin looks similar.

Afterall, it’s just skin. I don’t need to inherit or live up to more than that.

The use of masking tape mirrors elements of a weave but it’s also sticky like glutinous rice. Masking tape is the skin of the piece; fragile but transparent and sometimes the light peeks through and the bright spots can be appreciated.