Vicky Hao

Robert Louis Stevenson School

Senior

As a developing artist, I aspire to transform my emotional world into my work. I create works that project my interpretation of my surroundings and share the world filtered through my unique lens.

When I first started creating art at a young age, I felt ashamed of failing to create works that realistically depicted the world. However, as I grew older and opened my perspective of art thanks to artists such as Henri Matisse and Yayoi Kusama, I understood that art could not be defined by any rules, nor limited by naturalism. Art is a dynamic form of expression that is impossible to pin down.

In this piece titled “Night Routine”, I recreated what my father always resorted to after his long day of work. This particular set of snacks he enjoyed every night was his night routine, usually composed of some kind of wine, fruit and a variety of nuts. Because I started living far away from home at boarding schools at the age of 11, this scene that I mindlessly observed somehow left a deep impression in my brain when I thought about childhood. To others, this piece may look like an ordinary still life painting, but to me, it evokes a sense of nostalgia and familiarity.

The challenging part was that because I painted this from memory, the composition, and the light and shadow relationship was a bit hard to grasp. Nonetheless, I am happy with how it turned out since when I look at it, it reminds me of my distant childhood years and the many calm nights I spent with my parents watching TV after dinner.