EACH ONE SHOWS YOU YOU CANT
JUST PAINT ASIAN-AMERICANS WITH
A BROAD BRUSH.
>> ART IS -- ITS NOT SUPPOSED
TO BE JUST PRETTY.
ITS SUPPOSED TO CONNECT US TO
OUR HUMANITY.
>> Reporter: FOR AMANDA, ART IS
MORE THAN WHAT MEETS THE EYE.
YOU TALK ABOUT THIS CONCEPT OF
YOUR ART BEING DESIGNED TO MAKE
THE INVISIBLE VISIBLE.
WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT?
>> I THINK ABOUT THINGS WE CANT
SEE WITH THE NAKED EYE.
WE CAN ALSO REVEAL THE DEPTH AND
WONDER AND COMPLEXITY AND BEAUTY
AND RESILIENCE OF COMMUNITIES OF
COLOR.
>> Reporter: GROWING UP, HER
HEART WAS ALWAYS IN ART, BUT SHE
FOLLOWED THE BRAIN, MAJORING IN
NEUROSCIENCE AND WORKING IN
ALZHEIMERS RESEARCH.
THIS ISNT WHERE YOU THOUGHT YOU
WOULD NECESSARILY BE AS A YOUNG
GIRL IN ATLANTA.
>> I THOUGHT I WOULD BE A
SURGEON OR SOME KIND OF DOCTOR.
I AM THE DAUGHTER OF THAI AND
INDONESIAN IMMIGRANTS, SO
STABILITY WAS CERTAINLY
ENCOURAGED.
THE ARTS WERE NEVER SUPPOSED TO
BE MY PROFESSION.
>> Reporter: ONE DAY, AMANDA
TOOK THE LEAP FROM
NEUROSCIENTIST TO FULL-TIME
ARTIST.
NOW, HER MOST RECENT WORKS ARE
SHOWN IN ICONIC LOCATIONS, LIKE
TIMES SQUARE AND LINCOLN CENTER.
PIECES FOCUSED ON UPLIFTING
ASIAN-AMERICANS AND PACIFIC
ISLANDERS.
>> I DONT THINK ASIAN-AMERICANS
HAVE BEEN GIVEN THE SPACE AND
THE FREEDOM TO SHARE THE FULL
RANGE AND DIVERSITY, AND THERE
IS DEPTH AND BEAUTY IN IT.
>> Reporter: HOW DID YOU COME UP
WITH THE PHRASES FEATURED?
>> MY PARENTS HAD BEEN YELLED AT
IN A GROCERY STORE, TOLD THEY
SHOULD GO BACK TO WHERE THEY
CAME FROM.
I GOT ON THE SUBWAY -- THIS WAS
BEFORE NEW YORK SHUT DOWN -- AND
THE PERSON NEXT TO ME LOOKED AT
ME AND SAID, EW, GROSS, GET AWAY
FROM ME.
ITS JUST SOME OF THE THINGS I
WOULD HAVE SAID IN RESPONSE TO
WHAT HAPPENED TO ME BEALSO JUST
BROADLY.
THIS IS WHAT USING OUR VOICE
LOOKS LIKE.
>> Reporter: SHE IS AMPLIFYING
THE VOICE FOR HERSELF AND
OTHERS.
HER ART EVEN FEATURED ON THE
COVER OF "TIME" MAGAZINE
FOLLOWING THE SHOOTINGS IN
ATLANTA WHERE SHE GREW UP.
TIMES SQUARE, THE COVER OF
"TIME" MAGAZINE, THATS A PRETTY
BIG DEAL.
HOW DID THAT MAKE YOU FEEL AS AN
ARTIST?
>> I WAS JUST SO GRATEFUL THAT
PEOPLE ARE LISTENING NOW.
WE HAVE NEVER BEEN SILENT, BUT
THE WORLD HASNT ALWAYS BEEN
LISTENING.
>> Reporter: HER ARTWORK DRAWS
ON HER EXPERIENCES AND HER
FAMILYS BUSINESS.
HOW DID THAT TIME YOU SPENT IN
YOUR FATHERS RESTAURANT GROWING
UP, HOW DID THAT SHAPE AND MOLD
THE ARTIST THAT THE WORLD IS
COMING TO KNOW?
>> COLORS, THE SPICES, THE
SOUNDS, AND THIS SENSE OF
BELONGING, THIS SENSE OF
COMMUNITY THAT WE KIND OF BUILT
INSIDE THIS SERIES OF
RESTAURANTS, I THINK, REALLY HAS
SHAPED MY WORK.
YOU SEE MY WORK IS VERY
COLORFUL.
YOU SEE THAT IT IS VIBRANT,
UPLIFTING.
IM DEPICTING ASIAN-AMERICANS,
BLACK, AND LATIN X FACES WITH
DIGNITY, WITH RESPECT, AND ALSO
WITH LOVE AND JOY.
>> Reporter: WHAT DO YOU WANT
FOLKS TO TAKE AWAY?
>> I HOPE MY WORK GIVES FOLKS A
SENSE OF PEACE.
THERES ROOM HERE FOR YOUR
VOICES.
THERE IS ROOM HERE FOR YOUR
GRIEF, FOR YOUR JOY, FOR YOUR
LAUGHTER, FOR YOUR HEART.
>> I ENJOYED AMANDA.
BY THE WAY, HER WORKS ARE ON
DISPLAY IN BOSTON RIGHT NOW.
SHES ALSO, LADIES AND
GENTLEMEN, TAKING OVER OUR
INSTAGRAM PAGE, GIVING A TOUR OF
HER INSTALLATIONS.