Headlands Center for the Arts

Artist Statement

Props, dissections, and deconstructions of home lay the foundation for my sculptural practice. My architectural interventions are explorations of materiality and confirmations of how our built world is created. By uncovering what lies behind the drywall, I imagine an understanding of the embedded psychological spaces shaped by other architecture; those of cultural belief, written history, and social movements. What social habits inhabit private spaces and how does form inspire behavior? How does a home act to house trauma? I also occupy a layered space: working as a professional custom architectural builder, as a daughter of working-class Laotian refugees, and as a queer body disguised within these normative realms. My domestic de-constructions and additions wonder about spiritual and cultural morale and strategic property ownership—both so often connected to patterns of domination and control.

While at Headlands

I will continue to stretch my interests in architecture and created psychological spaces within my studio practice. I am open to challenging my work at Headlands, as it is surrounded by nature and serenity as opposed to the bustling neighborhoods of San Francisco and other urban spaces where I’ve originally found inspiration. I’m here to exercise greater concern over the natural habitat, and the visual hints of future disasters and non-sustainability found in clues within the landscape.