\u201cIf you have control over your skills, there\u2019s freedom in whatever you want to do,\u201d she says. \u201cI think that it\u2019s easy to splash around\u2014that\u2019s for sure\u2014but I think there\u2019s a lot of skills involved with abstraction, too. It\u2019s commonly assumed that abstraction is much easier because it\u2019s formless, in some ways.\u201d<\/p>\n Last year, Yuen completed an artist residency in Berlin, where she created a series of 25 paintings based on her photos of things around town that interested her. She wanted to create a unique souvenir for herself that played on the idea that our memory is very subjective. Yuen image-transferred the photos onto canvas and then painted on top of that, creating abstract art pieces.<\/p>\n \u201cIt evolves with such a degree of abstraction,\u201d she says. \u201cThat whole enactment plays on the idea and it also exaggerates the idea that our memory goes through many layers of removal, the very experience that we have.\u201d<\/p>\n When Yuen came home to Victoria, she was inspired to carry the idea forward, creating a solo exhibition, Wanderlust and Souvenirs<\/i>, based on her travels. The exhibit has paintings that evolved from experiences in Morocco, Hong Kong, and Germany.<\/p>\n \u201cThe souvenirs that I\u2019ve collected are unique because they are not the typical trinkets that you buy,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n To Yuen, the concept of \u201cwanderlust\u201d represents the fact that she has moved so often in her life. She\u2019s lived in six countries, and she currently has a second home in Berlin.<\/p>\n \u201cI associate moving as a way of broadening my horizon and improving myself,\u201d she says. \u201cWith that kind of movement, I find it really excites me.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n But for Yuen, wanderlust is more than getting the travel bug; it\u2019s the thirst for experiencing different cultures, absorbing different ideas, and seeing how people live. She hopes people will walk away from her exhibit with an inspiration to paint and to create, as well as with a sense of intrigue.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that acrylics can do so much,\u201d she says. \u201cIt is such an exciting thing.\u201d<\/p>\n The exhibit also finds Yuen coming back to square one and embracing her love of art, as she did when she was a kid.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt took me all that time to finally say, \u2018Yes, I cannot possibly live without ever giving it 100 percent.\u2019 I never regret any of the education I went through,\u201d she says. \u201cI never regret all the detours I took because they made me a richer person.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/My-Garden-Paradise-Trio.jpg\")
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