Visual Arts
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by Angie Widjaja
Colored pencil Angie Widjaja is a Bellevue-based artist, an International Baccalaureate recipient, and a senior at Interlake High School in Seattle, Washington. Artist's Statement: This drawing depicts a catharsis of emotions as the subject cries happily while being rained on by confetti. The subject has let down their shield and allowed themselves to experience the emotions that they had shielded themselves from previously. |
The Psychiatrist and the Patient by Antalique Tran
Digital artwork
Antalique Tran is a self-taught digital illustrator and sophomore at Yale University. As a prospective Neuroscience major pursuing an MD-PhD, she currently works as an art studio aide and Peer Wellness Champion. She hopes to bridge together arts and mental health.
Artist's Statement:
"Seems weird but I can have two voices in my head, a personal dialogue, with one hysterical patient and one rational psychiatrist. But sometimes the psychiatrist doesn't want to work. Or the hysterical patient doesn't want to listen. Or both. So I'm left with the psychiatrist knowing there's something wrong and how to fix it, but the patient unwilling to take a step forward. Or even the psychiatrist just wanting to back off, to let the streams run their course."
The patient and the psychiatrist exist simultaneously as a yin and a yang. The waves lap endlessly at the patient's feet while the psychiatrist chills with her feet up. Water calms me - the pitter patter of rain, the warmth of late night showers, the (inadvisable) taste of snow - while nature grounds me - the rustling of tree leaves, the chilled winter air, the flying dandelion seeds. These senses help to wash over the feelings of failure, doubt, distrust, emotional aching. Emotions and thoughts do not exist alone - many conflict but also interplay. Combining the cools with the warms, the ground with the sea, the patient with the psychiatrist hopefully conveys the sense of the duality that accompanies depression.
Digital artwork
Antalique Tran is a self-taught digital illustrator and sophomore at Yale University. As a prospective Neuroscience major pursuing an MD-PhD, she currently works as an art studio aide and Peer Wellness Champion. She hopes to bridge together arts and mental health.
Artist's Statement:
"Seems weird but I can have two voices in my head, a personal dialogue, with one hysterical patient and one rational psychiatrist. But sometimes the psychiatrist doesn't want to work. Or the hysterical patient doesn't want to listen. Or both. So I'm left with the psychiatrist knowing there's something wrong and how to fix it, but the patient unwilling to take a step forward. Or even the psychiatrist just wanting to back off, to let the streams run their course."
The patient and the psychiatrist exist simultaneously as a yin and a yang. The waves lap endlessly at the patient's feet while the psychiatrist chills with her feet up. Water calms me - the pitter patter of rain, the warmth of late night showers, the (inadvisable) taste of snow - while nature grounds me - the rustling of tree leaves, the chilled winter air, the flying dandelion seeds. These senses help to wash over the feelings of failure, doubt, distrust, emotional aching. Emotions and thoughts do not exist alone - many conflict but also interplay. Combining the cools with the warms, the ground with the sea, the patient with the psychiatrist hopefully conveys the sense of the duality that accompanies depression.
by Dongmin Son
Photography
Dongmin Son is an International Baccalaureate candidate at Interlake High School and a part-time photographer based in Seattle, Washington. Since picking up a camera for the first time at the age of nine, Dong has performed several photography jobs and volunteer services, with focuses on portraits, motor and sports, nature, and landscapes. You can find more of his works here.
Photography
Dongmin Son is an International Baccalaureate candidate at Interlake High School and a part-time photographer based in Seattle, Washington. Since picking up a camera for the first time at the age of nine, Dong has performed several photography jobs and volunteer services, with focuses on portraits, motor and sports, nature, and landscapes. You can find more of his works here.
Yin///Yang by Jing Jing Wang
Acrylic, embroidery thread, canvas needle
Jing Jing Wang is a genderqueer Chinese American high school senior. They are a multidisciplinary artist and spend their time creating art (visual, theatre, choreography, voice acting, directing, etc.), writing college apps, and loving a lot of things very deeply. They value the vulnerability and connection that is found in art and hope to continue sparking conversation and creating change while processing their own experiences through art. You can find more of their art on Instagram at @jingshiwang01.
Artist's Statement:
The traditional Chinese idea of yin and yang represents two seemingly opposing forces that are actually complementary and interdependent. It’s a perfect description of how I feel about my Chinese American identity. It is difficult for me to reconcile these two different parts of myself, but I know that they are both integral and interacting parts of myself. The red thread of fate in east Asian cultures is meant to connect two people that are destined to meet. I used this imagery to bind these two cultures of mine together. As I continue pushing for more conversations with those around me about the parts of each that I struggle with (homophobia, mental health stigma, Asian parenting, racism, the model minority myth, etc.), I feel more steady, more stable. This piece represents the hope that someday I will exist comfortably as a Chinese American individual, until then I continue tightening the thread as best I can.
Acrylic, embroidery thread, canvas needle
Jing Jing Wang is a genderqueer Chinese American high school senior. They are a multidisciplinary artist and spend their time creating art (visual, theatre, choreography, voice acting, directing, etc.), writing college apps, and loving a lot of things very deeply. They value the vulnerability and connection that is found in art and hope to continue sparking conversation and creating change while processing their own experiences through art. You can find more of their art on Instagram at @jingshiwang01.
Artist's Statement:
The traditional Chinese idea of yin and yang represents two seemingly opposing forces that are actually complementary and interdependent. It’s a perfect description of how I feel about my Chinese American identity. It is difficult for me to reconcile these two different parts of myself, but I know that they are both integral and interacting parts of myself. The red thread of fate in east Asian cultures is meant to connect two people that are destined to meet. I used this imagery to bind these two cultures of mine together. As I continue pushing for more conversations with those around me about the parts of each that I struggle with (homophobia, mental health stigma, Asian parenting, racism, the model minority myth, etc.), I feel more steady, more stable. This piece represents the hope that someday I will exist comfortably as a Chinese American individual, until then I continue tightening the thread as best I can.
Puddle by Sterling Yun
Photography
Sterling Yun is a Boston-based photographer. He grew up in Bellevue, Washington, and currently studies architecture at Northeastern University. See his work at instagram.com/syunphoto.
Photography
Sterling Yun is a Boston-based photographer. He grew up in Bellevue, Washington, and currently studies architecture at Northeastern University. See his work at instagram.com/syunphoto.
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Jigsaw by Victoria Hsieh
(Featured on this issue's cover) Victoria Hsieh is a current junior at Bellevue High School who is interested in the intersection of environmental studies, politics, and business. In her free time, she enjoys writing poetry and painting to raise awareness about mental health and other societal stigmas. |