North Austin Branch hosts a 2018 Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month art exhibit during the month of May featuring artist Susie Xiong.
Born in Chengdu, China, Susie immigrated to the U.S. when she was four to join her parents in Bridgeport. After teaching public school art for four years, she took on the name InsomniaBird and began creating art out of her apartment. Drawing from her education background, she believes the visual arts are a form of everyday expression and should be accessible to individuals of various ages and backgrounds. The pieces are influenced by street art, surrealism and Japanese kawaii, or cute, style. InsomniaBird's artwork utilizes acrylic and ink and features a reoccurring, large-eyed bird. The pose, color, and background of each bird reflects an internal state and hope in the face of a changing world. The exhibit uses the birds for subjects both playful and serious, and as a reflection of InsomniaBird's Asian-American experience.
