Chuqin Emily Han

[Fantasia Lab] explores my relationship with an irresistible urge to escape inside my fantasies. My childhood was marked by constant changes in environments; from changing schools, cities, and migrating countries, my family moved very frequently and I was constantly plagued with searching for a sense of belonging.

Although this caused a lot of chaos and instability in my childhood, one place that remained steady was my imagination and the worlds inside them; my home. Classical music played on my violin in my youth was the catalyst to these fantasy worlds. When I closed my eyes and delved into my music, I imagined worlds filled with majestic creatures, mythical beasts and sceneries. These worlds became my sanctuary in times of uncertainty, and I often found myself visualizing these fantasies into drawings. I would illustrate my fantasy worlds and its inhabitants on every corner of papers that had any substance, most times mindlessly doodling not even realizing what I was creating.

I once believed that embracing this escapism hindered real-world success; however, I’ve realized that as an artist, it’s essential to harness my fantasies into reality. My collection is a celebration and acceptance of my fantasy worlds reinterpreted through varying degrees of  fantasy transportation, from glimpses of fantasy application progressing into the full immersion, each look highlighting intricate handcrafted elements reflecting the meticulous care of nurturing a ‘laboratory’ of imagination.

[Fantasia Lab]
Designer: Emily Chuqin Han
DOP & Photographer: Emily J Zhang @emily.jzhang
Camera Assist/ BTS: Nicolas Tang
BTS: Shiwunan Cheng
Key Grip: Carter Buckman
Gaffer: Chris Perkins

MUA: Madelyn Fox @facexbyfoxx
Assistants
Elizabeth Beletsky
Charmaine Cheung
Phillip Novikov

Models
Marianna Darlene @mariannadarlene
Jacob @Jacobsauvv
Cory King-Lewis
Phoenix Hsuen @yoyophopho
Seraphina Pompei
Danait Mulugeta @__danaitmh
Jinie @chaejinie

Heavily influenced by classical music, my collection was inspired by the freeform art of illustrating my imagination to classical music. My initial sketches were 2 min creature drawings illsutrated while listening to my favorite classical music pieces and also the ones I played during my violin training. Upon the initial ideations, I took the creature sketches further and developed them into full-fledged graphite drawings that showcase the fantasy elements of my imagination in full detail.

My sketchbook pages highlight the process of working from a initial creature design, to puling aspects of that specific creature out, into reflecting those aspects onto garments.[Fantasia Lab ] Trailer tells the narrative of an artist depicted as a troubled scientist, giving in to his void of fantasies filled with the creatures he crafted in his labratory of imagination. These creatures are the end product of a lengthy iteration process, created and curated from the below pages of sketches featured in my portfolio.