My name is Amber. Amber Park. Born and raised in Los Angeles, California. I love the sunshine. I love to smile. I love to dream. My favorite color is yellow. I have been thinking a lot lately about aliens, how there are so many worlds out there that we can’t see yet, all of the worlds in my dreams. As a kid, I was quite shy and felt very alone during most of my childhood. I had a wild imagination which became my escape. My curiosity and imagination took me places far away. I was a bit slow academically, so I struggled talking to other kids, was a very late reader and needless to say had a hard time adjusting to the school I went to. Once I learned to read – I was an avid reader. I got lost in books. I always loved to color… on everything. On books, on walls, hahah even on myself. I loved cartoons, I loved movies, I loved books, I loved toys – I would transport myself into these stories and make my own fairytales and characters. This exercise was the first step towards “creating” and “drawing.” It encouraged this sense of dreaming. Cartoons became my imaginary friends and my companions. I was always daydreaming and my imagination took me to places far away beyond anything I could walk into in my physical reality. I would create my own fairytales and storylines which brought a level of joy, comfort, and belonging that I’d never experienced before. Physical exercise also helped me find my voice and develop confidence in my identity.
I find inspiration everywhere. To me, it’s so important to be present and to be observant. Open eyes, open mind and open heart. There is so much beauty and color in the world. The mundane has many nuances. People, conversation, the sights, smells and sounds – all these rhythms and pulses can spark a thought or an idea. I was so strongly influenced by the magic and feelings I experienced as a kid being so immersed in the worlds of anime, cartoons, toys, streetwear, and music that now as an adult I take those influences and remix them with things I am feeling now. How can I take a color and create a sensation or a feeling? Lately, I have been really inspired by creating work that can encapsulate an energy and evoke a feeling. How can you transport the mind somewhere else and allow that viewer to have their own interpretation and kickstart their own process of imagination?