While the representation of existence has been a central concern in Western art, East Asian thought has long cultivated the concept of qi: an understanding that matter and spirit are inseparable, and that all things are fluid and influence one another. Taking real and imagined creatures as my principal motifs, I explore their qi and their interactions with the outside world, as well as the flow of matter and spirit in a more conceptual sense. Qi is closely connected to the idea that the world can be understood through yin and yang. My work likewise brings together opposing concepts: yin and yang, East and West, past and present, figuration and abstraction, existence and nonexistence. To express these ideas, I focus on the energy of the brushstroke as a means of freeing my senses, building up layers of strokes. Drawing on the East Asian painting tradition of capturing a subject’s vital resonance through brushwork, I work with materials and techniques rooted in Western painting. My intention is to carry histories and cultures forward and present them through new forms of contemporary expression.