Reflection

A towering stack of hats is balancing on my head and covering my face. Each hat is unique in shape and style, representing personal layers of identity and self-protection. They serve as a shield—deflecting the overwhelming noise of the outside world, which is represented by the crowded neon signs. Behind the person and inside the darkness, vibrant neon signs glow in sharp colors—pink, blue, green, yellow—casting reflections on the stack of hats. These neon signs are drawn from my memories of cities like Shanghai and Hong Kong, where such lights dominate the night. They symbolize light pollution and constant sensory overload in modern urban environments. The signs shout with advertisements, directions, and demands, representing a society saturated with distraction. In addition, the delicate texture and infinite possibilities of acrylic paint allow me to display the structure and details of these hats, neon lights and myself. The neon halo reflected on the hat and in the environment is due to the colored pencils. The brushstrokes of colored pencils perfectly illustrated the blurred halo of neon signs, adding a unique tone to the work, which also hints at the impact of light pollution on the environment. Looking inside, going outside. The piece aligns with the theme by creating a unique perspective of how the “inside” longing for escape and peace contrast with the polluted and overloaded “outside” world. In general, this painting explores how light pollution has been a serious problem in urban areas, while also emphasizing how we navigate a world that rarely dims, where silence is rare, and where personal space must be self-constructed.