Feature by Yam Pothikamjorn
Photos by Will Park
Grace is a junior at Barnard College, studying English Literature and Computer Science. She’s dabbled in multiple art forms, including ceramics and textiles, but her principal focus is her photography. We discussed her current projects, why they are so important to her, and what it means to forget.
Grace’s biggest project right now is her AAPI Tattoo Artists in NYC Photo Series, which she started 6 months ago. She interviews Asian tattoo artists in New York City and photographs them at work, intending to highlight different generations of tattoo artists and how their processes vary between cultures. “In post-pandemic New York City, there are a lot of Chinese American artists who have turned to tattooing as a way to reclaim their bodies from the conservative households they grew up in, to say ‘This is my body and I can decorate it however I want.’” she informs me.
Grace’s first tattoo project
Grace interviewed a young artist who emphasizes creating a space for Filipino people where they can heal and allow themselves to be fully present in their body during the tattooing experience. “She was saying that tattooing can bring up a lot of unprocessed emotions, especially when they're tattooing something that's deeply personal.” In her private studio, this artist uses tools such as aromatherapy, soft lighting, and awareness of the client’s background. She incorporates her knowledge of the human body and its energy which she learned from working towards her yoga instructor license, and offers a space for them to talk about the memories the tattoo brings up - whatever the client wants.
From Grace’s home series
For many, facing and accepting the unprocessed emotions brought up by tattooing helps them to embrace the things they’ve gone through. Grace’s childhood home series is her own form of tattooing, a way to process her past. She started the project to learn how to put feelings into photographs, trying to capture how she felt growing up in suburban New Hampshire. “There were a lot of complex feelings surrounding that, especially being one of the only Chinese families in the neighborhood at the time. There’s also the feeling of isolation, even when you’re not experiencing loneliness all the time. I went to boarding school for high school, so that feeling of leaving home quite early and returning back there, especially since the pandemic, was a really interesting feeling that I wanted to document and capture.”
But what does forgetting mean to Grace? It’s one of the questions I’m most curious to hear her answer. “I really like to have control – forgetting has been a very scary process because I really want to hold onto things. However, I’ve realized growing up and especially over the pandemic, that it’s important to accept that forgetting is just a natural part of life and to learn to appreciate the beauty of forgetting, perhaps.”
You can find Grace’s work at:
@gracestills on Instagram