Artist Statement

Statement

My mediums encompass cartooning, digital illustration, and traditional painting. My approach to all of them stems from a need to compile images based on symbolic and metaphorical meaning. I like to gather symbols from an existing context and create a new narrative from them, whether it be from pop culture or a recurring subject in my life.

With these symbols, I formulate a thesis about love—I believe that love is change, and that change is death, and that death is reincarnation. These themes are inspired by my Vietnamese Buddhist upbringing about attachment, kindness, suffering, and reflection.

My works frequently have multiple figures or objects that interact with one another. I want people to have a greater understanding of their relationships, whether they gain the ability to move on or to grow closer. My goal is to reveal a vulnerable moment, and through that vulnerable moment, viewers recontextualize themselves into a clearer mindset. When I am loved, I am a new person because of the understanding that love brings me.

Bio

       Irene Pham is an illustrator, cartoonist, and painter currently residing in Watertown, Connecticut. They received their Bachelor’s of Fine Art in Painting and Drawing at the University of Connecticut in 2024 and their Master's of Fine Art in Illustration at Western Connecticut State University in 2027. Irene has won the Long River Review Award, UConn’s annual literature publication, for their graphic memoir, Sore Waters, and received UConn’s IDEA Grant for their solo exhibition, From Grandfather to Mother, From Mother to Daughter. Their works have been exhibited in galleries in various cities of Connecticut, such as New Britain and Hartford, as well as Brooklyn, New York.