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Self Portrait (2020)
Medium: Oil on Canvas
16" x 20"
This self-portrait marked the beginning of my inquiry into the role of the self within family and culture. Growing up in Hong Kong — a post-British colony shaped by both Eastern and Western values — and later moving to the UK at the age of eleven, I became acutely aware of how differently identity is understood across cultures. Western societies often prioritise the individual, while traditional Chinese values emphasise collectivism, hierarchy, and filial responsibility.
In this work, I depict myself in a restrained, formal manner, drawing inspiration from historical portrait photography and sculpture. The emotionless gaze references traditional family portraits that appear neutral on the surface yet hold deep personal and historical weight.
By presenting myself as a young Asian woman outside of the conventions of the Western male gaze, this portrait was an early attempt to reclaim authorship over my own image. Rather than offering myself as an object to be read by the viewer, I aimed to suggest an inner life shaped by cultural conflict, displacement, and quiet resistance. This piece laid the conceptual foundation for later works that examine family, silence, and identity through portraiture.
16" x 20"
This self-portrait marked the beginning of my inquiry into the role of the self within family and culture. Growing up in Hong Kong — a post-British colony shaped by both Eastern and Western values — and later moving to the UK at the age of eleven, I became acutely aware of how differently identity is understood across cultures. Western societies often prioritise the individual, while traditional Chinese values emphasise collectivism, hierarchy, and filial responsibility.
In this work, I depict myself in a restrained, formal manner, drawing inspiration from historical portrait photography and sculpture. The emotionless gaze references traditional family portraits that appear neutral on the surface yet hold deep personal and historical weight.
By presenting myself as a young Asian woman outside of the conventions of the Western male gaze, this portrait was an early attempt to reclaim authorship over my own image. Rather than offering myself as an object to be read by the viewer, I aimed to suggest an inner life shaped by cultural conflict, displacement, and quiet resistance. This piece laid the conceptual foundation for later works that examine family, silence, and identity through portraiture.
Mum and Popo (2020)
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Dimensions: 30" x 24"
This painting centres my grandmother and mother, who immigrated from China to Hong Kong and played central roles in raising me. In a family shaped by matriarchal care, the work challenges patriarchal assumptions by foregrounding women’s emotional and economic labour within the household. Inspired by Zhang Xiaogang’s Bloodline paintings, the figures are stylised to emphasise psychological presence, with colour and gaze used to distinguish generational experience, tradition, and modernity.
Dimensions: 30" x 24"
This painting centres my grandmother and mother, who immigrated from China to Hong Kong and played central roles in raising me. In a family shaped by matriarchal care, the work challenges patriarchal assumptions by foregrounding women’s emotional and economic labour within the household. Inspired by Zhang Xiaogang’s Bloodline paintings, the figures are stylised to emphasise psychological presence, with colour and gaze used to distinguish generational experience, tradition, and modernity.
The Twins (2020)
Oil on Canvas
24" x 30"
This painting depicts my twin siblings and addresses inherited gender hierarchies within family structures. Referencing traditions that prioritise the eldest son as provider, the work challenges cultural son preference by presenting both figures as equals. Through contrasting gaze and posture, the painting subtly centres female presence while questioning patriarchal assumptions without positioning gender as opposition.
24" x 30"
This painting depicts my twin siblings and addresses inherited gender hierarchies within family structures. Referencing traditions that prioritise the eldest son as provider, the work challenges cultural son preference by presenting both figures as equals. Through contrasting gaze and posture, the painting subtly centres female presence while questioning patriarchal assumptions without positioning gender as opposition.
Mama (2020)
Popo (2020)
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Dimensions: 11" x 14"
Dimensions: 11" x 14"
Popo (2020)
Medium: Graphite on Paper
Dimensions: 38" x 68"
Dimensions: 38" x 68"
Matriarchy (2021)
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Dimensions: 72" x 114"
Matriarchy was my final painting for this body of coursework and represents a culmination of my exploration into family, hierarchy, and identity. Raised in a single-parent household after my parents’ divorce, much of my childhood was shaped by female figures — my mother, maternal grandmother, and paternal grandmother. This upbringing stood in contrast to the patriarchal family structures traditionally emphasised within Chinese culture, where authority is often centred around the father or eldest son.
Inspired by old Chinese family photography and the work of Zhang Xiaogang, I composed the painting as a pyramidal group portrait. At its foundation are my mother and grandmother, positioned as the structural and emotional pillars of my family. My mother holds a phone to signify her role as the family’s breadwinner and executive director of the family business, meeting the viewer’s gaze directly to convey protection and resolve. Beside her, my grandmother sits composed and impassive, representing continuity, tradition, and lived experience.
My siblings and I are arranged above them, subtly challenging traditional expectations of gender and birth order. My eldest sister occupies the centre, asserting presence and responsibility in a role historically reserved for a firstborn son. My brother’s sideways gaze reflects his more easy-going temperament, while my own placement — slightly off-centre and looking outward — suggests a sense of searching and uncertainty. Though the work functions as a collective family portrait, it is also a self-portrait, capturing my position within the family and my ongoing negotiation between belonging and independence.
This painting introduces themes that continue to shape my work today: matriarchy, memory, cultural inheritance, and the quiet complexity embedded within family images.
Dimensions: 72" x 114"
Matriarchy was my final painting for this body of coursework and represents a culmination of my exploration into family, hierarchy, and identity. Raised in a single-parent household after my parents’ divorce, much of my childhood was shaped by female figures — my mother, maternal grandmother, and paternal grandmother. This upbringing stood in contrast to the patriarchal family structures traditionally emphasised within Chinese culture, where authority is often centred around the father or eldest son.
Inspired by old Chinese family photography and the work of Zhang Xiaogang, I composed the painting as a pyramidal group portrait. At its foundation are my mother and grandmother, positioned as the structural and emotional pillars of my family. My mother holds a phone to signify her role as the family’s breadwinner and executive director of the family business, meeting the viewer’s gaze directly to convey protection and resolve. Beside her, my grandmother sits composed and impassive, representing continuity, tradition, and lived experience.
My siblings and I are arranged above them, subtly challenging traditional expectations of gender and birth order. My eldest sister occupies the centre, asserting presence and responsibility in a role historically reserved for a firstborn son. My brother’s sideways gaze reflects his more easy-going temperament, while my own placement — slightly off-centre and looking outward — suggests a sense of searching and uncertainty. Though the work functions as a collective family portrait, it is also a self-portrait, capturing my position within the family and my ongoing negotiation between belonging and independence.
This painting introduces themes that continue to shape my work today: matriarchy, memory, cultural inheritance, and the quiet complexity embedded within family images.
Popo and Clarice (2020)
Medium: Oil on Paper
Dimensions: 30" x 40"
First portrait paint study using oil.
Dimensions: 30" x 40"
First portrait paint study using oil.
PDF of my Art Coursework on 'Structure':
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