My name, “萌 (Moe),” means “sprout” in Japanese. It expresses the wish for vigorous growth, just like a plant growing under the blessings of nature. Inspired by the meaning, I decided to explore my growth through a metaphorical expression of the plants. Besides, growing up in a multinational environment, I was impressed by how human relationships impacted me. Hence, my works explore the influence of relationships on my growth.

Primarily, my body of work symbolizes the personal narrative of growing with relationships. To facilitate this, I created artworks that capture the moments of exposition, rising, falling, and resolution. My first work, “Sprout,” illustrates the start of growth. This artwork is concurrent with the installation works of “4-Leaf Clover” and “Rain,” capturing the rising moment of the narrative. This transition from two-dimensional to three-dimensional work encourages the audience’s participation in the narrative and emphasizes the significance of the ’relationship.’ The central symbol of the pictographic character and uniquely shaped characters represent me and the people around me, and using these geometric forms allows the audience to identify with me. The repetitive design is composed to express the diversity of relationships, and GOOD LUCK symbolizes the connection between people. Throughout my process, I began questioning the negative side of relationships; thus, I explored this new aspect with “Drought.” This work introduces the pressures and stresses caused by a relationship. To emphasize the mood shift, I apply colors to represent the complexity of relationships. This idea is shared in my following works, “Caged” and “Cycle”, which capture the falling moments of the narrative and express my reactions to the conflicts. Ultimately, “Blossom” and “Jangle,” resolve the narrative. In selecting the materials, I used origami, bamboo chopsticks, and red thread to emphasize Japanese culture. For example, in “Blossom,” I used red threads to represent the invisible human relationship brought by the East Asian cultural view. All the artworks chosen for exhibitions have abstractionism and are composed of geometric forms and colors. These works satisfy my intent to explore the idea beyond and encourage audience involvement. The metaphor of the plant is communicated through the titles. For instance, “Sprout,” means the start of growth; it aligns with the work’s contents and symbolizes the exposition of the narrative. And my last work, “Jangle,” is titled to symbolize the resolution of the narrative, emphasizing the growth from the beginning.

In exhibiting my works, I curated the space following the narrative. The audience is invited to view the exhibition clockwise, from the beginning of the narrative to the end. Hence, I placed works with monochromatic outlooks in the beginning, slowly shifting into a more colorful and harmonious tone by the end to emphasize the progression of the narrative. As the audience enters the space, they are greeted with “Sprout,” which introduces them to the metaphor of the plants and the exhibition’s theme. This is further elaborated in “4-Leaf Clover”. The large-scale characters from “Sprout” are placed in a cycle, allowing the audience to be surrounded by the characters and inviting them to identify with me. Continuing on, the installation work, “Rain,” is hung from the ceiling above the audience’s heads, inviting them to be immersed in the space and feel the rain of GOOD LUCK. The next work, “Drought,” brings a shift in the mood of the exhibition. The fragmented ceramic pieces are placed from the wall to the floor, emphasizing the progression of the conflicts. My following work, “Caged,” is a collection of nine textile works placed three by three on the wall. This rectangular arrangement highlights the idea of containment. “Cycle” uses the same idea as “Caged” in animated format to add vitality, therefore placed close to each other. Toward the end of the space, “Blossom” and “Jangle” are placed on opposite sides of “Sprout” to highlight the growth from beginning to end. Throughout my works, there are several elements such as the geometric form, thread, colors, plants, and GOOD LUCK can all be seen in my last work, “Jangle.” Thus, the narrative is concluded and conveys that relationship has a massive part in my growth as well as shaping my identity.