"Another layer to my story of becoming an artist relates to my family. After my grandfather’s assassination by the Burmese military dictatorship, my dad fled to the Shan Hills, a mountainous zone bordered by China, Myanmar, Laos, and Thailand. In 1964, he helped establish the Shan State Army, which fought for greater autonomy and democracy for the people of the Shan State. My mother joined him in 1969. After I was born in 1971, we emigrated to Thailand. We were lucky, a few influential Thais helped my family. Because my mom worked, when I came home from school each day, I stayed with an elderly couple living near my home. They would feed me, and I would draw. I learned quickly. When I was 13, my family was granted political asylum in Canada."
