Yezi Lou engages with a diverse range of artistic mediums that primarily encompass painting, drawing, and printmaking. Depicting the confrontation between familiarity and unfamiliarity, the subjects in her works may bely immediate comprehension as to how they were ‘supposed’ to be depicted. While some audiences view them as general observational art, perhaps this satisfies her idea of the unwanted attention.

Lou’s artistic expression is the integration of hybrid cultures and languages, along with a deliberate disillusionment that challenges the prevailing optimism often associated with American culture. The subjects in her works often exist on the periphery of awareness; imbued with abstract and cultural significance, they transcend any singular purpose. By approaching the concept of portraiture, each painting can be seen as a reflection of Lou’s self-representation or an extension of her identity. This form of “self-objectification” embodies her cognition of collective experience and social freedom.