I turned to meditation seven years ago, tired of the stress and anxiety that came with chasing a better job, title, and salary, or trying to control an unpredictable future. As I explored further into Buddhism and meditation, it became clear that my discontentment came from me. Underneath it, I was trying to make things permanent, without seeing how everything is connected and always changing.

My work traces this process of letting go, inquiring into the impermanence and interdependence of body and mind. I visualize thoughts, emotions, and bodily sensations constantly appearing and dissolving, each having its own cycle of birth and death. The body tightens around an unpleasant thought, and the mind tries to change and fix it, prolonging the suffering. At some point, insight comes through and says, “You're holding on to what's already gone,” which stops the clinging.

The self is explored further, revealing there is no 'I' controlling anything. Only a mind and body made of nature, changing and aging like every living being, until its last breath. The drawings can sometimes evoke different views like a cell under a microscope, or a zoomed-out aerial landscape. It is a reminder that my experiences are not mine alone, but are instead profoundly connected to everything else. Love, equanimity, and connection arise when letting go happens.

My pieces manifest in abstraction, combining slow, detailed marks and quick, gestural movements. I work primarily in ink, limiting variables like color and mark, and use non-traditional tools like eye-droppers and cards to move it across the paper. I watch its movements, textures, and limitations, without forcing it to be something else. Each mark builds on the one before, influenced by my internal state at that moment. Through this experience, the work becomes a reflection of presence itself—a record of observing every occurrence arising and passing.