Interviews by Anthony Kosenkov 

Portraits by Maria-Annelise Cello 

How do your paintings draw from and expand on techniques and themes found in Buddhist art?

I think the linework. The line is very important in Chinese painting, including Buddhist art. Chinese paintings really influenced me, so I really focus on the lines. Some Buddhist works are really flat. I think line is the biggest thing I learned from Buddhist art, and also the abstract quality.

How did you discover your love for art from various religions?

I always was interested in Buddhism because one of my relatives is Buddhist. I’m also interested in Christianity, and other religions. It’s mystery for me, because I’m a non-believer, and I actually I don’t believe anything. And with my graduate starting, I’d also like to explore some religious things because I think religion can make me calm down. It makes me think a lot about humanity and human relationships.

What do you hope your work accomplishes? What message do you want to send out to the world?

If you are talking about messages, it’s about the human, the feminism, and the religion. The art I want to explore in my future – that’s too much! Because each thing is in different fields – like I really like animation, like I want to try to combine the traditional and the digital in the future. The word “woman” is a really important word in my art. I want to talk about the no gender, the duality, more in my future.