Nothing will change without u
These flowers started as a Mother’s Day gift, but after the week became busy, they were left quietly on the table.
Their petals are beginning to wilt, but the sunlight still touches them gently, making them feel remembered instead of forgotten. The long shadows stretch across the table like the arms of time, reaching past the vase and pulling the moment into memory.
I wanted this photo to feel quiet, like a small reminder that memory can remain even as beauty begins to fade.
When I ordered ice cream at Terra, I did not expect anything special. Then a waiter came to my table with a giant dessert cart and started serving the ice cream right in front of me.
Even though she was a stranger, this small moment felt warm and personal. She was focused on her job, but her care made the experience feel special.
Aging is a construct of who we are as people.
I walked into my sisters room missing her a lot. She went to school in Boston a few years back and visited a tiny bit each year. I looked at her wall across the room, filled with memories she had growing up clipped onto the wall with fairy lights. Every single one of these pictures were my sister’s nostalgic memories.
I blurred the faces to keep it more private.
Artist Statement — New Beginning
I chose to photograph a small plant growing in an unexpected place because it felt personal to me. When I saw it, it reminded me that growth doesn’t always happen when conditions are perfect. Sometimes, new beginnings happen when things feel uncertain, uncomfortable, or even broken.
The plant growing through a place where it wasn’t expected made me think about times in my own life when I’ve had to grow without having everything figured out. It reflects the idea that change and new chapters don’t always start in obvious or beautiful ways. Sometimes they start quietly, in moments when you don’t even realize something new is beginning.
This image connects to the idea that life moves in cycles. Things end, situations change, and new paths appear. Even when something feels finished, it doesn’t mean growth stops , it just changes form.
To me, this plant represents hope, resilience, and the possibility of moving forward, even when you’re unsure of where you’re going next. It reminds me that new beginnings don’t have to be big or dramatic. Sometimes they are small, quiet, and still meaningful.
I used:
My photo captures a sunset scene where warm orange and pink tones light up the sky behind distant mountains. In the foreground, a rack of surfboards forms a dark silhouette. The boards create repeating lines that frame the horizon in the background, giving the image a layered, abstract, and slightly mysterious feel.
A warm day at Shoreline Park comes to an end after surfing gentle waves beneath a setting sun. You slide your board back into the rack, where it stands beside the others. Each with its own personality: the pink one with flowers, the blue one with race cars, and yours.
But in the fading light, all you see are silhouettes. Their colors disappear, and the boards blend into a simple, quiet community, waiting together for a new day.
As you walk away, you can’t help wondering: What will tomorrow bring for them? And what will it bring for you?
The person you’re looking at, the one hidden behind this canvas, is me. Hi, I’m Alicia Zhuang!
I wanted this photo to capture not just my face, but the part of me that’s curious, creative, and always looking for something new to discover. Sometimes we hide behind our own “canvas,” the things we create, the roles we play, but that’s also how we express who we really are.