Medium: watercolor and pen

Inspiration: I love liminal spaces and video games. During the cold snap in January, I didn’t really have much to do, so I decided to create an abandoned mall scene based on my favourite video game, Breath of the Wild. I wanted to go for a food court vendor which drew very minor inspiration from BotW and the culture in game, while mixing in some modern aspects. It all really goes down to me being burned out with playing video games, and just thinking “What if BotW’s Hyrule existed in a modern world, and there was an abandoned mall?”

Takeaway: When I made this piece, I wanted to evoke a sense of loss, depicting a once-bustling place from a bygone era. I wanted to find a good mixture of darkness and light to be able to capture that essence of time, and how it took its unfortunate toll on this once-beloved location.

About Emma Chou, class of 2025: I enjoy playing video games, doing art, and writing fanfiction. I work when I am inspired, and often create my own characters. I love to build worlds and create in-depth stories. When I’m not playing video games or creating stories, I like to go out and walk around town.