Growing up in the concrete jungles of Shanghai, I always felt an affinity for nature. One of my earliest memories is being enchanted by the worms that swam their way up to the surface after it rained. Apart from the pigeons, these were the only wildlife I encountered. My early fascination with animals and the environment led me to pursue an academic career in ecology, earning two degrees in the field. However, my desire to share scientific insights in a more creative way ultimately led me to filmmaking and photography. Today, I merge my scientific background with my artistic practice to explore the intersection of climate change and social justice. 

While climate change is often portrayed as a distant or future issue, my work seeks to bring this crisis into the present, encouraging audiences to understand that it is happening here and now. I draw significant inspiration from Evgenia Arbugaeva’s photojournalistic approach and her documentary Haulout, which follows a group of walruses who come ashore in a remote part of Siberia. The film captures the reality of how the natural world is being impacted by warming waters, portraying it through subtle yet powerful imagery. This influence is evident in my postgraduate film Limbo, a short mixed-media documentary that follows a couple's struggle to rebuild their lives after catastrophic flooding in the UK. By focusing on how extreme weather events impact everyday individuals, the film challenges the notion that climate change is a distant threat and stresses the urgent need for preparedness and action.

My work is an ode to the earth, both in content and form—environmental stewardship is not just a message but a method. I firmly believe that how something is created is just as important as what is created. To that end, I actively pursue sustainable photography and filmmaking practices, including earning the Albert certification during my MA at UAL, attending Sustainable Darkroom workshops to learn alternative photography techniques, and making everyday swaps such as using rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. Sustainability is a core value in my creative process, ensuring my work aligns with the very principles it advocates.

Like animals adapting to their environments and forests regenerating after wildfires, I am constantly evolving. My work now lies at the intersection of human rights, climate change, and migration—shaped by my personal history as a migrant and the increasing climate-induced displacement affecting the Global South. My great-grandparents migrated from China to Malaysia in search of a better life, my parents later returned to China, and I grew up as an immigrant there before moving to the UK. With my family still in Malaysia, I feel a deep responsibility to contribute to solutions. Currently, I am working on a film about climate migrants in the UK, further exploring these interconnected themes and continuing my commitment to using storytelling as a tool for change.