Biography

The practice of making art has always been a way for me to express whatever I've experienced in my life. Not what's happening in the outside world, but what's going on with my inner self. Visual arts first came to me during my childhood in the form of drawing/painting and since then I had been letting my intuition lead my brush - I only painted what I felt. Drawing and painting became the way I "document" my life. 

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From 2018 to 2020 I came to Australia to study the Bachelor of Visual Arts course at Sydney College of the Arts. Most of my artworks during that time were made as if I was trying to tell others: "This is what I've been feeling! This is what I've been so afraid of! This is the world under my vision! Have a look at it!" My practice in the past was purely purposed at expressing my own emotion - or should I say, "venting". 

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At the same time, I also had chances to experience other forms of art making which I gladly took in, including ceramics, sculpture, and space installation. However, after finishing my third year, I didn't have a clear vision of what I am going to do next with my career. I'd learned so many things during my bachelor’s study, yet I haven't found my own journey in art. 

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I decided to take a gap year and came back to finish my Visual Art Honours course in 2022 and created the work I am nothing, for I am everything. The project was a journey of reconnecting to myself and my own background - a Vietnamese Buddhist. I encountered master Thich Nhat Hanh and his books, which then became the thesis guide for my Honours projects, as well as my personal lifestyle.

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After the Honours year, I continued to research further into the philosophies of Buddhism teachings. I learnt how to be conscious of my own emotion, of where it truly came from and how it goes away. I learnt how to appreciate what I am having, what I am experiencing at this present moment, rather than focusing on what I've lost or yet to have. I learnt how to find stillness in my mind when the environment outside is filled with chaotic situations. I learnt how to be thankful for the smallest blessing that I encounter every day, and that there are so many blessings that appear every day, that I used to overlook.

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It was then I discovered the path for my career as an artist: to make artworks that bring a sense of peacefulness, calm and life appreciation to others, based on a Buddhist and meditative approach. My grandfather once told me: "You have to live with a responsibility to the society that you're a part of." I think I now understood what he meant. I finally found the connection between my life and the art that I make - my art practice is my meditation. 

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I still have a long way to go, and no one - even myself - can really tell what's lying ahead. Perhaps there'll be challenges? Perhaps there'll be failure even? But hey, isn't this the coolest thing to say to others about your journey: "Yeah I've been through those struggles, and I lived!"