I don’t know exactly what words are. They can be visual, and they can be audible, yet they require a different form of thinking from illustration and song. But words are still a form of art, as well as a messenger among people. I am so close to my art and loved ones that I would expect words would be an instinctive process; however, words have always stood as the most challenging task in the forefront of my life.
Whether it’s a struggle to seek the right phrase or an inner force preventing me from spilling verbal emotions, I find that my incentive habits would rather silence myself than let me speak my words. Recently, this specific pondering has manifested itself within my dreams, through the form of an odd inability to be heard, even by myself. My dream self will feel a petty frustration that I want to yell out of my body, but the words that come out sound like they have been muffled by a bubble. This has thus been my inspiration for the animation, “Word Bubble.” Sometimes, when I can’t communicate myself through words, I turn to the arts, and through that I learn over and over again that what also matters is my preferences for self expression.
SVA Word and Image: Fall 2021 