Xang Ngoc Ho Baltimore, Maryland First Award $10,000 Age 25

"On a daily basis we encounter many people, but we never reach the self. We see scarecrows, straw men, whose purpose is their appearance alone. When the appearance is gone, are we forced to find more?"

Xang Ngoc Ho was born in Bangkok, Thailand and was diagnosed with polio when she was a year old. Her family moved to the United States in hopes of a future full of promise and opportunity, where people with disabilities might be treated equally. Ho conveys,"Art became a tool that helped me make sense of myself and the purpose of my life in America." She uses photography to deal with a woman's identity, including issues such as disability. Within her work, Ho seeks to portray unspoken thoughts, forgotten dreams, and memories. She manipulates the photographs within the darkroom in order to heighten the emotive effects. Ho's piece Straw Men #1 comes from a series of 12 black and white photographs that attempt to find the self beneath the appearance. "During this project, I was forced to look at my own body and see the beauty in it. That was a point where my life shifted gears."

Influential Art Teachers/Professors:
Will Larson, Maryland Institute College of Art, Maryland