Forlorn Crucible
A liminal study on the human condition, where fracture gives rise to a shape that we can barely recognize. My subconscious feelings led me to take random photos that represented my difficulties growing up as a Japanese American dealing with pectus excavatum, a birth defect in which one's chest caves inward. I often found myself circling back to the dualism of the underlying beauty that lies within despair. More specifically, the subject matter that I often go back to includes worn objects and composed shadow abstractions. The title Forlorn Crucible describes a state of hopeless isolation combined with a period of intense, transformative struggle. Forlorn means feeling abandoned, lonely, or completely without hope, while a crucible is a severe test or a trial that forces a person to change or grow. It implies that while the experience is lonely and exhausting, it is the very thing that shapes who they become. I want my images to serve as a visual language for the "unseen" struggle, pushing the viewer to find beauty in structural vulnerability.