One of the most fascinating spaces that human beings can occupy is the place where art, science, and design meet. Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya, our Dazzler of the Day, exemplifies the power that this magical crux can produce. Her recent artwork for the ‘I Still Believe In Our City’ campaign highlights the mounting racism raging against Asian Americans, while working to heal those wounds with hope and beauty.
Ms. Phingbodhipakkiya comes from both the scientific and artistic worlds, where a promising passion for ballet was derailed by a skiing accident. After that point she turned to studying neuroscience and researching Alzheimer’s before returning to the artistic world through design and education. The connections between science and art have long flourished beneath the surface – a connection that both scientists and artists intrinsically seem to understand, but that is often lost on the viewer or general public. Phingbodhipakkiya puts this connection front and center in much of her work, simultaneously challenging and celebrating all the ways in which they are intertwined.
Even more powerful is when this sort of work collides with society, as seen thrillingly through her ‘I Still Believe In Our City’ project, which has taken New York by colorful storm in this stunning subway series designed to illuminate the rising anti-Asian racism in the age of COVID-19 and rampant disinformation.
Her work is instantly impactful, vibrant with strong, saturated blocks of color, and features a gloriously diverse array of people – a celebration of the women and people of color Phingbodhipakkiya has sought to highlight in her various fields, particularly in the STEM world. Such representation is vital in telling the many stories of contributions and advancements made by the heretofore-unheralded. Making those who have traditionally been invisible into a visible and potent life-force takes the sort of powerful alchemy that Phingbodhipakkiya explores with striking results.
Visit her website here for a more comprehensive collection of her many accomplishments.
