My goal is to create objects “so cute, you could just crush it.” I want my viewers to recognize the ugly or aggressive feelings, along with the warm and fuzzy feelings that ‘cuteness’ can induce. My work explores the theme of melancholic cuteness and how it manifests in globalized East Asian pop culture constructing Asian American identity (Gudetama, Aggretsuko, Guro-kawaii, Mashimaro, as examples to name a few). Motifs from these characters and fictional worlds inspire the lumpy and organic shapes, or warm and gentle materials that I use in my artwork. I create nostalgic objects that make the viewer feel curious, playful, pensive, touched, held, seen, or comforted.

I’m inspired by deep emotional connections to consumer products, and how the consumer can overlap with the producer when products get re-interpreted through their influences. Most of my work is interactive and requires participation to be fully activated. Sometimes the viewer has to flip through pages, click through a virtual environment, or press a button to activate the mechanical structure. Other times, interactions with previous viewers of my past artwork inform my new artwork. It’s a continuous cycle of call and answer.