Nguyên Lâm (Anya)
currently at Chicago, IL


anatomy of love that lasts a lifetime


A mixed-media exploration utilizing creative writing, handrawn elements and red threads, exploring the depths of connection between mother and child from a perspective from a Vietnamese immigrant.



Year:
Role:
Tools:
Duration: 2025
Graphic Designer
Procreate, InDesign, Photoshop, Scanner
10 weeks Art Direction, Print Design (Risograph), Mixed Media (Collage & Handsewing), Typography & Lettering

Best in Show for Contemporary Practice, Year End Show
University of Illinois Chicago, 2025

The interactions between Little Dog and his mother–Hong– in the novel "On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous", left me reflecting on the complexities of mother-child relationships in immigrant families. In this project, I attempt to shed light on this unique love language—one that is quiet, tender, and often unspoken.

anatomy of love that lasts a lifetime is a collection of collages, featuring hand-written text, pictures, textiles, and red thread weaving elements–symbolizing the strings of fate and how connections between parents and children in Asian culture are bound together across lifetime. 

Through these explorations, I hope to uncover the depth of mother-child connection, and the humanity that binds the two despite millions of things that pull us away from each other.

Read more here.



Inspired by Michelle Zauner’s "Crying in H Mart", this hand-woven textile piece on mulberry paper explores a child’s journey of rediscovery—seeing their mothers in a different light—not just as a caretaker, but as her own person, separate from the role of "mother".
A collection of spreads threaded together by the edge forming a short book, with each spread woven together to picture tension between the relationship between the child and their mother.
To depict the precise moment, the paper was cut in half, goauche paint was used to simulate the blood effects, and red thread was used to represent the child's seven stitches after the accident.
The child imagines a past where her mother chose herself first—a future where she pursued her own dreams, unburdened by motherhood.


This project is encapsulated in a short 24-page zine, printed on a risograph at CADA Print Lab using two colors: Crimson and HD Black. 

The zine weaves together media that inspired the work alongside personal observations and reflections, The book documents media that has inspired me (Everything Everywhere All At Once by the Daniels and Headfirst by Ocean Vuong), the clothes she wore upon arriving in the US, the struggle of navigating paperwork in an unfamiliar language, and her expressions of love—through food and text messages.
Physical scan of the risograph zines, 5x8 inch, saddle-stich bound, 14 copies available at UIC 2025 YES! Show.
Booth display at UIC 2025 YES! Show.