This is a piece that speaks heartily to hardship, challenges and encouragement through one’s life journey. Inspired by the history of a city I call home for many years, the Great Fire of Chicago in 1871 brought fatal damages to the city and cast disastrous stones upon the fate of its people. Instead of falling into a disheartened destruction, the city, however, grasped its fate and fought against this obstacle and used it as a chance to replenish, reborn and reset its way of becoming a brand new city and building its legacy as the birthplace of the skyscraper. Without the Great Fire, it will never become the city it is today.
Like the city, I personally have also been through a fatal period of self destruction, I struggle with self-doubts, depression and other mental conditions for a while. But that became a juncture that led me to start creating. The hardship and struggles I have been through, become the precise reasons of what I do and who I want to be today. We have and we will continue to face challenges and obstacles in life, Besides "getting feet wet" for every step we take and every decision we make, our feet could also end up in various harsh situations that send us burning sensations during our process of learning and growing. However, meanwhile the hardships we encounter also become the precise fuel that ignites our passion and empowers our will to overcome obstacles and surpass extremity in life.
This piece is who I am as an artist and a person. It is also a piece created to empower all who have been through and continue to face difficulties and challenges everyday in life. And like they say, “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” The encouragement and willingness throughout our journeys will eventually outshine the rest, From the fire of hardship, one can rebirth to become their own Powerhouse.