"Strange Lands" is a series of acrylic and mixed media paintings exploring migration, cultural duality, and assimilation, inspired by my family's journey from Taishan, Guangdong—a small city in Southern China and a significant ancestral homeland for many Chinese in North America—to Toronto. The series captures the exhilarating yet isolating journey of building a new life — one that is marked by struggle, resilience, and profound growth. 

Each painting portrays a unique landscape where natural elements, such as orchids, symbolize people planting roots in unfamiliar terrain. Inspired by Confucius’ view of cymbidium orchids as role models for self-cultivation — thriving in solitude and exuding fragrance without the need for admiration — the orchids in my work embody resilience and authenticity. They remind us that in moments of isolation, we find belonging by leaning into our virtues and beliefs.

“... temperate flowers, growing in the quiet valleys, yet bettered the world by exuding a luscious bouquet.”* 

The stitches or ‘x’s found in some pieces reference traditional Chinese poems often seen in Shan Shui paintings. They also nod to my mother’s first job, in Canada, as a seamstress in Toronto’s Fashion District during the late 90s. The stitches, sometimes disjointed, sometimes aligned, evoke the challenge of finding one's place in a new world.

The colours and textures reflect the dynamic exchange between people and land, culture with culture, and the self and others. They explore the tensions and harmonies of co-existing, conflicting, and merging to create something new. 

*Quote from Orchid Muse: A History of Obsession in Fifteen Flowers by Eric Hannickel