Painting the social and emotional landscape of Asian America.
An Alleged Wife (Quok Shee in the Redwoods), 2025
Quok Shee was a Chinese immigrant who arrived in San Francisco in 1916 and was detained at Angel Island while attempting to join her husband in the United States. After more than twenty months of imprisonment and legal struggle, a federal judge ruled that immigration officials had abused their authority and withheld critical evidence, leading to her release in 1918. Her case, Chew v. White, Immigration Commissioner (1917), remains a powerful example of the barriers faced by Chinese immigrants during the era of exclusion.
This portrait is based on a mugshot from Quok Shee's immigration case file. The original photograph captures a woman enduring confinement while maintaining a remarkable sense of dignity. Her carefully arranged hair and composed expression suggest both resilience and self-possession in the face of uncertainty.
Rather than recreating the conditions of her imprisonment, I imagined Quok Shee in the redwood forests of Northern California. Surrounded by cool greens and blues, she is temporarily removed from the surveillance, confinement, and bureaucratic violence that shaped her experience. The painting offers a moment of rest and reflection—a speculative act of care for a historical figure whose story survives largely through government records.
This work is part of an ongoing series of historical portraits that recover overlooked stories from Asian American history and explore their continuing relevance to contemporary conversations about migration, citizenship, belonging, and civil rights.
Artwork Details
Original oil painting on recycled cotton canvas
30 × 40 inches
One-of-one original artwork
Unframed
Signed by the artist
Limited-edition prints available
The recycled canvas used for this painting helps reduce textile waste and requires significantly less energy to produce than traditional cotton canvas, reflecting a commitment to more sustainable studio practices.
The US National Archives holds a treasure trove of immigration case files from during the Chinese Exclusion era, among them a file for the Los Angeles-born actress Anna May Wong (Wong Liu Tsong), considered the first Chinese American Hollywood actress. In 1924, Wong (a US citizen) sought to leave the US to film in Canada, and was required to apply for permission (Application of Alleged American Citizen of the Chinese Race for Preinvestigation of Status), be interviewed, and provide a signed and sworn statement from a white witness (the doctor attending at her birth) to prove her identity and status.
This portrait oil painting of Wong is based on the headshot attached to the application, in which she is elegantly dressed, complete with pearls. In my mind, her expression is complex—amused, ironic, direct, questioning—as it should be, for a birthright citizen to be subjected to such bureaucratic racism.
"alleged American citizen of the Chinese race" (Anna May Wong, 1924), 2025
30” x 30”, oil on ramie fabric
Mahmoud Darwish was a Palestinian poet and author who was regarded as Palestine's national poet. Over his lifetime, he published 30 volumes of poetry and eight books of prose. I wanted to create a portrait series for collectors honoring legacy writers who have been crucial to my own development. For me, Mahmoud Darwish’s work is an important touchstone with lasting impact.
Limited edition 8 in. x 10 in. museum-quality giclée archival digital print on Epson cold press bright 305 gsm textured watercolor paper. Comes signed with a certificate of authenticity.
Frame not included. Ships from Los Angeles, local pick up available.
Other writers in this series: Theresa Hak Kyung Cha and (coming soon) Agha Shahid Ali.
Other print sizes available here in open edition.
I paint portraits that hold marginalized histories in the present tense.
These works consider social-cultural memory and historical forgetting—asking how those who have shaped everyday life are seen, overlooked, or misremembered.
I create images that are cultural records, through which collectors and viewers can commit to the ongoing reshaping of our visibility.
Services
Once reserved only for the wealthy, a one-of-a-kind, hand-painted portrait of yourself or a loved one is the perfect gift! Commission a custom oil painting portrait—hand-painted from your photo by a professional artist. Timeless, personalized artwork for gifts, decor, or legacy.
Options:
16” width x 20” height portrait of one person (head and shoulders) painted from a photograph
24” x 20” portrait of two people (head and shoulders) painted from a photograph
30” x 24” portrait of two people (head and shoulders) painted from a photograph
All portraits are painted on your choice of professional canvas made of recycled fabric or recycled water bottles.
Frames are not included. Price does not include shipping.
Please note, my style is loose and expressive, not photorealistic. See my previous work to decide if this is the right style for you.
Custom Book Design
Transforming text and image into an object of art.
Murals
Hand-painted or digitally designed for indoor or outdoor walls