Ray

Of all my works, this is the only one that wasn't based on my own subject. I remember seeing it and immediately knowing — this is me. By the next day, the fabric was stretched and I'd begun stitching the first square...

It is me — because every single one of my works, each one, is a self-portrait. Who am I in this piece? Everyone. Every detail. Every stitch. It seized me instantly and didn't let go for six months, until I finished.

This shamanic piece took me across the border of myself: from one version of me — to a completely different one. And in the end, it led me through a trial I would never have honestly agreed to before, because I couldn't even imagine that such things were possible. That's a separate story, one I may tell someday.

The subject turned out to be a wonderful work by Chinese artist Rlon Wang (王荣亮). It's a piece in the ukiyo-e style: a picture of the ever-shifting world.