2022-2025

Watercolor and ink on paper

22 inches x 18 inches

This painting was inspired by the documentary Landscape of Men, which critiques how people chase diplomas and equate success with credentials, making education utilitarian. It reminds me of my experience in China. From 2020 to 2021, I attended 4 hours nighttime math courses after school everyday. This period remains etched in my memory as one defined by intense pressure and uniformity. As the lamps drift from the glowing classroom into the surrounding shadows, I envision a space of liberation beyond a society obsessed with diplomas and defined by conventional measures of success.