PLATE WITH AN 8
LICENCE PLATE WITH AN 8
Special projects__Photography, 3D Modeling
As a child growing up in the Albertan truck landscape, it always felt a bit inferior (and maybe “too Asian”) pulling up in a little Honda with a “safe travels” lucky charm dangling off the rear-view mirror. It was doubly felt when my parents asked for “good plate numbers” - lots of 8’s - at the car registry. But it’s the stacked buyers guides and car manuals in our basement (that we weren’t supposed to touch because they were covered in grease) shelved next to custom-painted scale models and emblem badges, interrupted by sweet touches of Asian art and trinkets that have influenced my idea of “home” greatly.
It’s this East-West juxtaposition in cars that, beyond the competitive outward show of luxury and status, reveals roots of immigrant stories, comforting nostalgia, and in many ways, my family’s love for design.
See also: BMW’s in the backyard; chromaflair paint on remote-controlled toy cars; 80s magazines, buyer’s guides and books with illustrations and peak graphic design; suburbia; cute solar-powered dashboard ornaments that are simultaneously air fresheners; Honda Civic; bootleg CDs with 300 songs.
“The recent pandemic brought a renewed focus on our neighbors, communities, and the spaces we live or create in. We channeled this energy into the theme of our second publication: Home. In this issue, we focused on our hometown where STRATUS started: Edmonton. In a collaborative 3-day photo gallery held in-person at CO*LAB Edmonton during the final weekend of September 2021, we asked 5 Edmonton-based photographers to convey their definition of home using film photography.”
- Stratus Journal Issue 002
Prints from this series can be purchased here.
Hanging out in my uncle’s Chevrolet GMT400 - summer in suburbia
This project is featured in Stratus Journal Issue 002:Home which is now available for purchase on stratusjournal.com. Get a cheeky flip-through preview of ‘License Plate with an 8’ on Taeha Tapes’ Twitch stream below.
Left to right, top to bottom
Winter tires under ramen boxes; Garage with Chinese newspapers; 3D Render of a solar-powered dashboard ornament (source of embarrassment between the ages of 12-18); Rear-view mirror charm for luck and safety, (also source of embarrassment between the ages of 12-18); Car magazines in the garage; Car and Driver Magazines in a box; Model cars shelved above car magazines in our basement.
Not only was I invited to share my project ‘License Plate with an 8” in the print magazine, the Stratus team brought me in to lead the installation build for the Launch Event of Issue 002: Home. To see how opening night went, click here.
