Artist Uncaged

This award-winning artist turns difficult times into symbolic works of art

Mar / Apr 2018

When Tori Hwang was in kindergarten, she often got in trouble for doodling in class. Currently an eighth-grader at Immaculate Heart Middle School in Los Angeles, California, Tori, 13, finds Pixar movies inspiring and hopes to someday pursue a career in animation.

What inspired this painting?

The artworks that I created before this one showed happy memories in my life. When I started working on this painting, I felt stressed at school, so I decided to try something new. I wanted this painting to express the frustration I felt, and to show that everyone experiences ups and downs.

What was your working process?

I started off sketching with pencil. I drew myself in colored pencil because it was the first time I had ever drawn a self-portrait. I wanted to use a medium I was really comfortable with. At first, I thought I was just going to draw a simple cage and a person who looked like me inside the cage. Then I started adding paint, and a lot of things changed. I developed the background, border, and cage, and it all just came together.

Tori Hwang

Was there a particular mood or effect you were trying to create?

I wanted to evoke my title, Trapped. I think adults look down on young people and believe that our problems are less valid than theirs. I wanted to show that we also experience real frustrations.

Are any of the images in your painting symbolic?

The birdcage symbolizes how claustrophobic and frustrated I felt. I painted the cage using gold paint to make the cage—and myself inside it—stand out. I drew the birds to create contrast. Their freedom emphasizes that I am trapped inside the cage.

Do you have any advice for aspiring young artists like yourself?

Just be you. Express every side of yourself.