Art school is often described as a place of expansion, a container for experimentation, risk, and growth. A space where you develop a voice before you’re asked to professionalize it. In practice, the container feels tight. What I’m experiencing in my photo program isn’t a lack of rigor: it’s a structural contradiction. The program asks for creative expansion while organizing…
At some point, the urgency left.I didn’t mark when it happened. I only noticed that I wasn’t rushing anymore — not through my days, not through my work, not through myself. Without that pressure, something else became visible. I stopped trying to prove. I stopped trying to do. I stopped moving with the tide of image after image, idea after…
In the Company of Others This season has been about engagement—deep, continuous, sometimes exhausting. Through different roles and collaborations, I’ve found myself woven into communities both intimate and expansive: my peers at university, the wider arts world in Toronto, and the quieter pockets in between. For years I longed for belonging, believing I would find it through proximity—by showing up,…
Reflections on Landscapes of Identity There’s a persistent tension I’ve lived with — between the impulse to preserve my privacy and the call to make myself visible. As someone who finds depth in introspection and meaning in quiet observation, I’ve often chosen to remain in the background, crafting stories from the margins. But as an artist — particularly one whose…
A New Chapter in Photography Media Arts This week, I step into a new chapter of my creative journey as a Photography Media Arts student at Toronto Metropolitan University. As this moment approaches, I reflect on the encounters and revelations that have transformed a simple curiosity into a deep-seated passion. Photography has been more than a means to capture the…
This summer, I unexpectedly found myself traveling to California for a family reunion to celebrate my aunt’s 90th birthday. With free time before returning to school and no other immediate family members able to make the trip, I was encouraged to attend as our family’s representative. I initially envisioned this journey as a grand photographic adventure, but it turned out…
I’ve always been fascinated by the magic of photography—the way a single frame can capture a moment in time, evoke emotions, and tell a story. Yet, despite my love for the art, it took me years to embrace the world of analogue photography. For someone who has spent much of their life immersed in digital photography, stepping into the analogue…
In these last months, I have been peacefully living in the quiet. As I approach the end of this transitional period in my life, I have been blessed with abundant time and space to seek peace and joy. When I return to academia in September, much of this tranquility will inevitably change. Fully aware of the limited time and energy…
I’m a few weeks into re-familiarizing myself with image-making, and it feels like falling in love with photography for the first time. As I reacquaint myself, I am acutely aware of how at ease I am, marveling at the mysterious workings of my own technical and creative muscle memory. At this stage of my creative journey, I expect that finding…
