The recent shooting at Star Ballroom Dance Studio in Monterey Park, California, which left 11 people dead and nine others injured has sent shockwaves through the Asian American community.
The perpetrator, identified as 72-year-old Huu Can Tran, allegedly opened fire on elderly attendees of a Lunar New Year celebration on Jan. 21, 2023.
In a bid to commemorate the victims’ lives and bring attention to their stories, Los Angeles-based designer and illustrator Jonathan D. Chang decided to create portraits of each victim.
All of the images are uploaded on the artist’s Instagram account, including the stories of each person to highlight their humanity. The posts also include links to GoFundMe campaigns launched by surviving family members.
Chang used a Wacom drawing tablet to digitally depict in vibrant colors the images of slain victims Ming Wei Ma, 72; Mymy Nhan, 65; Diana Tom, 70; Xiujuan Yu, 57; Valentino Marcos Alvero, 68; Yu-Lun Kao, 72; Hongying Jian, 62; Wen-Tau Yu, 64; Chia Ling Yau, 76; Muoi Dai Ung, 67; and LiLan Li, 63.
Yu-Lun Kao, 72
Xiujuan Yu, 57
Wen-Tau Yu, 64
Valentino Marcos Alvero, 68
Mymy Nhan, 65
Muoi Dai Ung, 67
Ming Wei Ma, 72
LiLan Li, 63
Hongying Jian, 62
Diana Tom, 70
Chia Ling Yau, 76
Chang, who was born in Taiwan and moved to the Los Angeles area with his mother when he was 3 years old, tells NextShark that he believes in using art in activism to spread awareness on issues that are important to him.
“Since 2021, I have done over 40 portraits of Asian victims of violence to share their stories within our small and sometimes divided diaspora,” he shares. “Until this year, I would have never thought that I’d be illustrating people from my hometown. It hurts even more knowing that one of our own was responsible for shattering so many lives.”
Among the first such portraits that Chang created was the colorful depiction of 84-year-old Vicha Ratanapakdee, a Thai immigrant who was killed after being pushed onto the ground in San Francisco on Jan….
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