Inspiration for the piece:

Centered is the Hmong motif of "home." During the Stillwater prison closure, the backgrounds of who we are and who we became shatters. What remains whole is the home we found ourselves in - the hearts of those we love enough to call family in prison.

What role does art play in your life?

Art is who I am. Without art, I'd be very emotionally lost. Making myself and the people I love happy inspires me to create art.

Artist statement:

My name is Dao Xiong, the coolest person you'll ever meet. I'm a Hmong artist who loves my culture and it's adaptive people. A big reason why I stay humble, observant and imaginative is because art is woven onto my identity. It just took me a long time to find that out and an even longer time to fall in love with my pieces. Now that I found myself, who can stop me now?