Lunar Gala

To celebrate the Chinese New Year, students of Carnegie Mellon University created the Lunar Gala Fashion Show. All students are eligible to apply to become board members, producers, designers, models, tech crew, and dancers. About 1000 students take part in this valuable experience each year, this tradition being an integral part of the Carnegie Mellon community for over 10 years. 

This year’s 2017 theme was based on the rooster, an animal in the Chinese New Year. In addition, the word sonder inspired this year’s event. On its website Lunar Gala 2017 defines sonder on its About page—

Consumed by our everyday agenda, one can pass by the same places and faces with no concern of the significance of each interaction. Sonder describes the jarring awakening through which we become aware of the parallelism between our own vivid and complex experiences and that of any passerby. No longer droning through life grey and unmoved, every person offers his or her own color, interconnected stories and new realizations. This year’s show personifies this realization and aims to lead us through this transitional narrative.

                                                                         — 2017.lunargala.org

Look Around

Book: Cardboard, fabric, rice paper, matte paper, ink

Paintings

Black & White Photography

Randyland

Candyland, Wonderland, Neverland...

Places we dreamed of that are filled with surprises. Everything could be upside down, moving sideways, or even turning when you are in this world. It could seem as if you are on a merry-go-round that flashes colors and makes you see astonishing happenings like Alice did in Wonderland.

The pieces are taken at Randyland in Pittsburgh, PA. It is a small home of the artist named Randy Gilson who created his own version of “Wonderland” there. To effectively show this creative but crazy place, my inspirations came from the Disney story of Alice in Wonderland.

Pause

Sofa, fabric, cotton, soil, glitter, fishing line, crystals, book    

Carnegie Mellon University is known to be challenging and very work driven. As students become accustomed to this tough environment, many turn into zombies who are deprived from sleep, rest, and nutrition. When procrastination kicks in and stress builds up, nothing can make us stop thinking about those assignments, projects, and exams. Sometimes, we even forget what time it is because of our busy schedules. 

My purpose is to stop and lighten up those individuals’ day. Another purpose is to make students stop, rest, and look at nature for relief. The color, green, is supposed to bring ease to your eyes and nature is always good for one’s health. In what ways exactly? “Nature can reduce hypertension, respiratory tract, and cardiovascular illnesses; improve vitality and mood; benefit issues of mental wellbeing such as anxiety; and restore attention capacity and mental fatigue” (Coles). I truly wished to make a “pause” to everyone’s rigorous cycle. 

Cathedral of learning

Glossy paper, ink

Built in 1926, the Cathedral of Learning is the second tallest educational building worldwide and now serves as a famous landmark of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is the center of the main University of Pittsburgh campus. The building contains a number of specialty rooms including a studio theater, food court, study lounges, offices, labs, and 30 Nationality Rooms. The first floor, known as the “Commons Room,” is a prominent part of the building recognized for its gothic architecture and choice material of Indiana limestone. The Cathedral of Learning can often times be seen filled with an abundance of young college students and tourists alike thanks to the wide variety of functions offered by the Cathedral of Learning.

The series is taken within the Cathedral of Learning at five different occasions: most images captured in the Commons and Nationality Rooms (The Early American, Indian, Japan, Austrian, Turkish, Israel Rooms). I took these pictures to show my viewers perspectives of the building that we would not usually think of and take note of. I focused primarily on the Commons Rooms to show the ominous and mysterious aura by keeping the warm lights in many of the photos.

Dream

Dream

The teddy boy

Glossy paper, fabric, buttons, thread

The "Teddy Boy" is a British subculture that was popular during the 1950s. Despite their social status, these boys would try to wear clothing that looked expensive and outrageous in order to stand out: broad shouldered clothing to greased Tony Curtis hairstyles.To effectively show the subculture, I created an art piece by designing a “dandy suit." The photographs range from portraits of the Teddy Boys themselves to objects, textiles, or scenes that are related. Not only would this be a fashion piece but this could also advertise the subculture.

For Love