“Evolution” and “Means to an End”

by Misa Trinh

Mi Isabelle Trinh, or Misa, is a 23-year-old Asian American woman born and raised in San Jose, CA. She currently resides in Long Beach, CA, to obtain her Bachelor’s at CSULB and works as a tattoo apprentice at Oni Tattoo. Her artworks are inspired by her childhood and the evolution of relationships as experienced through the lens of a Vietnamese woman. Pop culture’s depictions of Asian women have been riddled with over-sexualization or subservience, regardless of the situation that they are in. She aspires to portray Asian women with powerful femininity in the same way that old, traditional Asian paintings do while evolving beyond typical Asian (women) fetishization. Her key goals in her artwork are to express the Asian American woman’s deep strength, pain, and love. She inevitably develops a deep emotional connection with each of the pieces created by doing so. All her life, Misa sought representation in artwork of the life she knew and the hardships that the strong women in her family went through. She is proud to be a part of the representation that is needed within contemporary art.

Evolution

The Gift (2023), Graphite & ink

A Dimming Light (2023), Graphite & ink

Return (2023), Graphite & ink

The Fragility of Beauty (2023), Graphite & ink

Means to an End

Tired (2022), Ink

Codependency (2022), Watercolor & ink