The offer—and the challenge—was simple: I had three months to produce a solo exhibition in Shanghai. I was provided a place to live and work; everything else was up to me.

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On my first day in the city, I met Michael, a friend of a friend. Raised in Sweden by Chinese parents, he was now living in China and navigating multiple cultures at once.

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Michael had never been to the United States and was deeply curious about American life. At one point he asked, completely earnestly: “What is it with the hillbillies there?” My American friend and I burst into laughter. From that moment, the term “hillbillies” became something we used endearingly—an accidental symbol of cultural translation, misunderstanding, and connection. It captured, in a single word, the strange paradox of bridging worlds through misrepresentation.

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Hillybilly, my first solo exhibition in Shanghai, opened with a reception on October 5, 2012, in the showroom and garden of Xinlelu.

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I later exhibited work in Metamorphosis: International Group Exhibition (May–July 2013) at Shun Gallery.