Portfolio
Elleen Xue

In 2021, I lost my roommate of four years to gun violence and my godsister to suicide; the former was my dearest friend since I entered boarding school at 9, and the latter grew up by my side like another sibling. Words could not express my pain and confusion, only art.

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As an aspiring doctor and researcher, I was also deeply moved by the sacrifices of public health providers, many of whom died on the front lines of the pandemic along with their patients. I created this portfolio as a way not to find closure, for that would be impossible, but at least to meditate on the profundity of our collective losses and to try to find a little meaning in poetic truth.

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These works explore my body and my mind, my memories of the past, my experiences of the present, and my hopes of the future. I confront my disability and my family history. I mourn lost friends. I reflect on the simultaneous fragility and resilience of the human condition in the face of disaster. Join my imagination on the following ride.