Abraham Maslow said, “In any given moment we have two options: to step forward into growth or to step back into safety” (The Psychology of Science: A Reconnaissance). My body of work centres around the themes of self-growth and identity. As I entered high school, I became increasingly aware of how my endless pursuit of perfection led to my own self-sabotage. Therefore, self improvement has since been of great importance to me.

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At the centre of the exhibition sits a portrait of myself. The journey of my life and my growth fills the walls around this portrait. It is displayed on an easel, sat at eye level, allowing the viewer to see it as a work in progress, reflecting my desire to accept imperfection. I hope that from my exhibition, the viewer will gain a deeper understanding of me as a person and will be inspired to reflect on their own journey of self development.

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The artworks on the right begin my exhibition and explore my relationships with members of my family, as I believe that they played a significant role in shaping my behaviours and beliefs. The opening piece, Reverence, is viewed from a low angle to reflect my respect and admiration for my mother. It is hung on the wall between two projected stained glass windows. This mimics a stained-glass window triptych in a place of worship. The second piece, Mismatched, confronts my insecurities in relation to how I and others compare myself to my older sister, which has caused me at times to lose my own sense of identity. It is displayed so that it is at eye level, allowing the viewer to make eye contact with the portraits and involuntarily compare the distorted versions of the two sisters.

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The next two pieces Remember This? and Big Magic represent the innocence of my childhood, when as children we could play and be ourselves with no judgement. Remember This?, is a toy sculpture that forms a shadow of my younger sister and I. It is displayed inside a tent, alluding to the forts we would make when playing together as children. Viewers need to bend down to a child’s point of view in order to inspect the shadow cast by the light. Adjacent to this hangs the drawing Big Magic, inspired by an old toy, that captures the magic I felt in the freedom of making art and without any restraints on my imagination.

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But as you grow, this childhood innocence starts to slowly erode and the piece Beautiful Decay reflects this gradual breakdown of self and self-esteem. It is hung so that the faces are lined up and at eye level with the viewer. This allows them to closely examine my increasingly distorted facial features from all angles, confronting my insecurities. Living within a sheltered environment, I wanted to push myself out of my comfort zone by exploring new places in Hong Kong to further my understanding of what it means to be a local Hong Kong kid. This is what I managed to achieve in the following piece, Tourist In My Own Home.

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Growing up in Hong Kong has been a big influence on my life, my identity and my anxieties. The Vertical City, is a series of paintings that use fairytales to form critiques of Hong Kong society. Displayed as a vertical triptych to encourage the viewer to reflect on the pressing issues of social class that the paintings convey.

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The exhibition closes with Living With Uncertainty. This installation is filled with plants and seeds, symbolising how I have grown from confronting life’s uncertainties. This acceptance has given me a greater sense of maturity, facilitating my transition into adulthood. The audience is invited to write their fears on handmade paper that contains seeds. Through this action the viewer plants their fears that will overtime grow into life. This final piece is representative of the journey of self-growth shown in my exhibition and how it required me to confront areas of my identity that before I was too fearful of.