Size: 15 × 31.5 in.

Media: Oil on wood panel

Year: 2022

Waiting to board the plane at the age of eleven, I felt alone and fearful of my unclear future. As I observed the adults around me, I felt my hands shake. To me, this flight symbolized severance; my childhood in Korea was over. In “Baggage Claim,” I depict myself with more luggage than the other passengers to convey the weight of my journey. The tall window frame represents the daunting and overwhelming world from the perspective of a young child. As a first-generation immigrant and college student, the sacrifices my parents have made are always in the back of my head. I found myself struggling to allocate enough time to focus on myself and develop my own identity in the midst of my family’s financial woes.