Portfolio - Art by Tori Hong

Art by Tori Hong

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Coming February 2021

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Queer, consent-driven Valentine’s cards for sale

Queer, consent-driven Valentine’s cards for sale! 🌸✨ featuring 9 designs by 9 Minneapolis artists. These cards were curated by @nickeyrobo for a queer slow jams party in 2019. Some of the raddest peers got together to create this card pack. Share these love notes with your sweeties, flirtations & friends this season & beyond 💘
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There are only a limited amount left, so grab yours today!
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💎 $10-20 sliding scale
🛍 Purchase from my Etsy store OR
📍 DM me for free South Minneapolis pick-up
🔗 Link in bio
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ID
1) White text on a purple background reads, “🌸 Queer Valentine’s for sale 🔮 9 original designs by 9 MPLS artists.” A picture of two Queer Valentine’s packs is featured. They are 9 one-sided cards held together in a plastic sleeve. The pink tag for the cards read “Radical Valentines”. There also is a pink floating heart gif that says “I love you”.
2) A picture of all 9 cards laid out on an emerald green satin sheet.
3) A close up of the design I made. A queer and trans mixed-race couple of color are embracing each other with a look of longing in their eyes.

I had the honor to illustrate for Hieu’s campaig

I had the honor to illustrate for Hieu’s campaign demanding his release from ICE. The crew at MekongNYC and VietLead commissioned a shareable illustration, drawn from a low-res photograph of Hieu leaning on his car. The illustration is a transparent image file with no background. This allows the organizing team to use Canva to create new graphics to suit their campaign needs. Hieu is still in ICE. His family and many community members continue to fight for his release.
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@mekongnyc_ @vietlead
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ID:
1) An illustration of Hieu leaning against a lilac sedan with a purple and blue starry background. Glowing green, bold text reads, “#BringHieuHome”. Hieu is a cis Vietnamese man wearing a white tank top, a gold chain necklace and watch, and blue jeans. He has tattoos on his upper arm.
2) Social media graphic made by VietLead for the Shut Down Essex rally on Dec 21, 2020. The illustration of Hieu is in the background along with the hashtags #BringHieuHome, #ShutDownEssex, #FreeThemAll, and #ForWhenWeAreAllFree.
3) The illustration of Hieu on a plain white background.
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#Not1More
#AbolishICE

It my first time in a loooong time animating a gif

It my first time in a loooong time animating a gif. These sleeping bunnies were too cute to pass up this opportunity!!
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Thank you @lawthao for pushing me further with my art. I got some exciting things in the works, and I can’t wait to share with y’all. Neopets Tori is LIVING!
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Image descriptions:
1) a black and white animated gif of two bunnies sleeping in a burrow. They are both blinking awake, then back to sleep. One bunny lays on top of another, shaking its ears and bun tail.
2) the still drawing, in which both bunnies are sleeping soundly.

It is a huge privilege to be able to greet y’all

It is a huge privilege to be able to greet y’all and say Happy New Year. I have been in my burrow with my bb pod, attempting to break into new & ancestral worlds. For years I’ve been obsessed with wild rabbits in the moonlight. They always take my breath away, and I consider them a good omen. Then I learned about the Korean myth of the rabbit who lives on the moon. This illustration features diasporic bunny pals running — home, away, from, toward — during a Midwest winter & under the Bunny Moon. Little paj ntaub triangles line the birch tree. I’ve been learning that home is never too far from Home. Hopefully this image helps you feel this way too. This image (and more!) will be a part of @springboardarts’ January mailer. I am so grateful for all of your support.
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Image Descriptions:
1) A black & white illustration of two white bunnies running under a full Rabbit Moon. The night sky is pitch black, scattered with stars. There is a bitch tree and various woodland debris on the right of the image too. In the sky it reads, “Nyob zoo xyoo tshiab. Happy new year! 새해 복 많이 받으세요.”
2) Same illustration with no words on the sky.
3) A close up of the Moon Rabbit / Rabbit Moon.
4) A close up of the two running bunnies.
5) A picture of a Midwest winter feat. a cloudless blue sky, two human shadows, many human and animal snow prints, and snow covered brush.

Hi community, I hope this message finds you well.

Hi community, I hope this message finds you well. 💜 My queer & trans fam Damion needs financial support right now as they are navigating housing instability & managing chronic illnesses. I’m asking my networks to consider supporting as they are able — every dollar and share goes a long way! Thank you for being community, and wishing y’all wellness as this year closes. 🍄🌈✨
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GoFundMe link in bio 🔗
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ID:
1) Damion smiles, holding their pup. The text reads, “Mutual Aid 4 Damion: trans latinx housing support. bit.ly/MutualAid4Damion”.
2-4) Letter from Damion (they/them): “Hey community,
In January, I will need to find new housing accommodations. I’ve been able to stay with my friends for around six month and I’m so grateful for that time. In November, my friend's partner moved in. They are starting a beautiful life together, and so we all agreed that it’s best for me to move forward. Due to my multiple chronic mental and physical health conditions I am not able to fully support myself financially. Especially with the current state of the pandemic, which has negative impacted my dog walking and pet sitting business. I am currently waiting to her back about the social security disability hearing that happened the second week of November. The judge typically takes up to 3 months to make a decision. The instability of not having consistent housing and having to stay at 9 different places in the past 3 years has negatively affected my chronic mental and physical illnesses. It has also made it impossible for me to put down roots. As a Queer, Gender Non-conforming, Latinx person living in or as close to my community in Minneapolis is extremely important to me. My goal would be to have enough money to find a place to live during my waiting period, being able to pay for necessities, while I continue to save as much money as I can. I currently have the ability to afford $400 a month on rent and I’m unable to find any rooms for that price. I am asking for any amount of financial assistance. This will make it easier for me to narrow down a room for rent that I can afford in January.”
6) Thank you! Goofy pic of Damion w/ tongue out & a pic of Damion snuggling their dog.

🌈 Art vs. Artist 2020 🦋 First of all, happy

🌈 Art vs. Artist 2020 🦋
First of all, happy International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers (12/17). If this year taught me anything, it was what my values are and how to show up for them publicly & (more importantly) in my personal life. I value spaces in which my queered family (and beyond) can live, safe to express who we are & the many ways we create, rage, grieve & love. I value emotional & material support. I value rest, space to self-discover, and intentional communication. We are in this for the long haul. Having lifelong PTSD, I am always learning how to manage my condition, heal ancient wounds, and craft sanctuaries to replenish myself. This year was absolutely no different. Seeing myself surrounded by my art — by people I love & trust & support — makes me grateful for this gift to express queer, Southeast & East Asian diasporas. I can’t believe I get to be a confluence of all these histories, identities & revolutionary futures. Here’s to the lifelong processes of decolonization, abolition, and abundant creation. 🍄✨
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Image description: An art vs artist grid featuring 8 of my digital artworks surrounding a selfie of the artist. The work is colorful and joyful, depicting these characters’ most humble & glorious selves! Grid images are... 1) Cori as Opal from Steven Universe. 2) Mushie Minh. 3) Panel from Ched Nin’s story of ICE detention & his release. 4) Abolitionist Elder. 5) Selfie of me wearing Jaida Grey Eagle’s beaded earrings. 6) Kimchi making. 7) Deerfox Minhwa. 8) Sailor Seng. 9) Pen & ink drawing of Jess.

One of my greatest joys this year has been drawing

One of my greatest joys this year has been drawing my friends!! I continue to experience queered family, mutual aid & celebration of life worth living along these peoples’ side. This was part of a birthday present for kitchen witch & star baker Jess @_vuamieng ✨. Jess and I have been friends since I was a baby gay. They held my hand as I got my first Queer haircut, and we even had a p. dramatique falling out. Through serendipity & intention, we reconnected years later. Being Southeast Asian & queer means we feel the winds & waves of war & relocation in our entire being. It means being erased to achieve narrow ideas of survival. It also means great healing when we shirk what empires tell us we are good for. Jess, I’m so glad that we get to reconnect and (re)define lifetimes for ourselves. Kuv hlub koj ❣️
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[ID: a pen & ink drawing of Jess. They have short messy hair, gorgeous dangling earrings, and many tattoos adorning their soft skin. They are smiling with their lips together and holding their thigh.]

🌬❄️ Online market open now! 🌬❄️ [ De

☃️ 𝓜𝓪𝓴𝓮 𝓨𝓾𝓵𝓮𝓽𝓲𝓭𝓮 𝓖𝓪𝔂 ❄️ I’m excited to announce that I’m participating in this queer online winter makers’ market! Hosted by @sickkittyceramics & featuring over 30 queer MN makers who will be hawking our wares.
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🎁 Market runs Dec 4th - Dec 6th, 2020
👨🏻‍🎨 I’ll be selling fine art prints, stickers, zines & greeting cards of my work.
🔗 Link to the FB event in my bio
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Please consider supporting local this gift giving szn — supporting small biz — supporting LGBTQ & BIPOC folks... I know exactly where my money goes & so much of it goes back into my communities (as well as my own living expenses).
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You already know this. I appreciate y’all.
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📸: Tahiel Jimenez
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ID
1) Flyer illustration - “Make the Yuletide Gay online queer market Dec. 4th-6th”. The illustration features a wreath, and inside the wreath is the back of a queer person in a plaid shirt, flagging. 😉
2) Picture of myself vending pre-pandemic. My table of wares is set up. The artist & customers (adults & children) are laughing.
3) Close up of art on table.
4) Close up of stickers.

me & my pod . . . . ID 1: A picture of Tori leanin

me & my pod
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ID
1: A picture of Tori leaning against a railing in front of a river. The sky has wispy clouds, and Tori’s hair flutters in the sky.
2: A picture of Minh, Sana & Tori all cheesing in front of the self timer.

🐇 𝙶𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚊𝚠𝚊𝚢 𝙲𝚕𝚘

‼️ This just in ‼️ I identify as a lesbian

‼️ This just in ‼️
I identify as a lesbian nowadays THX!!! 💋
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For those who didn’t know, for a while I was identifying as a bisexual who wasn’t attracted to cis men. I now know that my sexuality is entirely LESBIAN ENERGY *and* I am not strictly a cis woman 4 cis woman lesbian. I am attracted to trans women, trans men, cis women, & non binary folks!
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AKA IM QUEER BUT IF YOU NEED ME TO DEFINE MYSELF IN THIS COLONIZER ASS LANGUAGE. Here you go.
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Grateful for all the queer ass love in my life. Lingerie & lighting — get into it 😉

Felt all of the matriarchs (known & unknown. by bi

Felt all of the matriarchs (known & unknown. by birth & by queerness) in this self-portrait, “Abolitionist Elder.”
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How amazing it is to envision ourselves as ancestors nurturing legacies, struggles, fears and dreams. How amazing it is to pay homage to the women (trans especially & cis) who have allowed my life and my being to be what it is. To struggle to become. Wherever this finds you, I hope you are well. Let the wind songs of the spirits flow through you & out. If you can, shake your hair and your ass. Revel in (y)our gloriousness. Hold one other. We belong to ourselves & the earth & each other.
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ID:
1) Close up of self-portrait “Abolitionist Elder”. A peaceful expression is on my face as I sew a story cloth. You can see tattoos on my wrinkled skin & my colorful Hmong skirt.
2) A picture of my Hmong grandma.
3) A picture of my Korean grandma.
4) A picture of me smiling in the SF sun, taken by @angelinahongmedia ☺️

"Abolitionist Elder" is a self-portrait envisionin

"Abolitionist Elder" is a self-portrait envisioning a feminist future that queers our ways of living together. Told through the legacy of Hmong story cloths, depicted is the struggle and creation of a future without prisons, ICE, police & other vestiges of colonization, militarization, and enslavement. Care is at the center of these futures... One of the many ways to envision this future is to vote, protest, steward, create, and abolish together. I’ve teamed up with @aapifund, Culture Surge and 12 other AAPI artists across the nation for #VotingTogether campaign to share original music, poetry, performances and digital art to encourage AAPI communities to vote before or on election day. ------- Prints of the original artwork (sans words, with precinct 🔥) to come.
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Image Descriptions:
1) An illustration of a queer Hmong and Korean abolitionist elder in Moob Leeg (green Hmong) clothing. She wears glasses and has tattoos on her wrinkled skin. She is sewing a Hmong story cloth, which spills from her hands like a river. In the story cloth, we see figures of all skin tones, genders, sexualities, and religious beliefs protesting police brutality; freeing folks who are incarcerated; tending to forests and community gardens; and welcoming loved ones home. The elder sits between the silhouette of indigo colored mountains, and stars splash against the dreamy blue and purple sky.
2) Same as ID 1 except there is bright green text over a dreamy blue and purple mountain background that reads, "Voting together is how we care for one another. #votetogether".
3 & 4) Detail shot of the story cloth.
5) Detail shot of the bright pink and embroidered Moob Leeg skirt.

Cori Nakamura Lin ✖️ Steven Universe 💫 . A

Cori Nakamura Lin ✖️ Steven Universe 💫
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A Saturn return birthday present for my Virgo water twin!! I had a blast translating Cori into Opal from Steven Universe. Had to include boba (which was invented in Taiwan), her Nakamura mon tattoo, & her Uniqlo~ yukata too. 😉
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I’m so lucky to be scheming, dreaming & schlumping with you during the end of capitalism and empires. Here’s to the new worlds we’re gonna help salvage, build & live in together. 🌈
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Swipe ➡️ for the process video & details!
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ID:
1) Illustration of Cori as Opal from Steven Universe. She is standing on her two tippy toes with attitude. As a four-armed Gem, Cori is holding a Thai tea boba, a glowing arrow, a massive bow, and her hip in her hands. She is wearing a deep blue patterned split tunic inspired by her Yukata. The background has dreamy clouds & floating rock mountains.
2) A Procreate timelapse video of this drawing.
3) Yukata pattern detail. Dark blue fabric with a pattern of green leaves, purple vines, yellow flowers and pink berries.
4) Face detail. You can see Cori’s new glasses & her gem on her forehead, nestled between her two signature hair buns.
5) Boba and floating mountain details.

Your local braless babe reporting for duty ✌🏼

Your local braless babe reporting for duty ✌🏼
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Hi folks! Thot I’d introduce myself on here for my followers, old & new. My name is Tori Ntxoo 성미 Hong. I am a Leo currently in my Saturn return, mourning the end of my sun season since Virgo season is kicking my ass ☠️.
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Born in Minneapolis, Mnisota Makoce, I have lived in the Twin Cities metro my whole life. So much of who I am is a result of coming back home to little Tori: a queer, diasporic mountain girl illustrator just trying to roam freely. Please feel free to (re)introduce yourself in the comments below. Sending y’all much love and protection during these trying times. 🔺🌀🔺
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Impromptu personal branding shoot 📸 by @angelinahongmedia 😉
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Image description: Tori, a queer Hmong & Korean woman looking off into the distance with a smile. It’s golden hour in San Francisco.

It is the greatest honor to envision my chosen fam

It is the greatest honor to envision my chosen family in some of their most fantastical forms. Depicted here is Sailor Guardian Seng (@seng.xo), whose golden Virgo birthday I had the honor of celebrating this year 🥰
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This piece took quite of bit of research & affirming of personal knowledge — both of the Sailor Moon franchise & of Moob Leeg (Hmong Green) clothing. It was fun to see how Moob details could translate into the sailor guardian uniform. I also learned how EXTRA our ancestors were — with our details, extravagance, and perfection. I am grateful to be on this wild, painful and wondrous journey called life with you Seng. Happy golden birthday. 💛
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ID:
1) A digital illustration of Sailor Seng in glorious Hmong green textiles. The sailor uniform is black with pink and green accents, and ancient embroidery is stitched onto the skirt, collar, and sleeves. Seng gives us a wink while squatting and holding up their Hmong sailor staff. There is silver jewelry incorporated in the outfit, and a fantastical sparkly pink, purple, blue and yellow background.
2) Details of the paj ntaub (Hmong embroidery).
3) Close up of Seng’s face. They are wearing sparkly pink eye shadow and lipstick and have short cropped hair.
4) Close up of Seng’s sailor staff, which is pink with a white Hmong textile print on. At the top is a silver piece of Hmong inspired jewelry with white wings! The staff sparkles.

I had a lot of fun with this re-draw of @haydenmin

I had a lot of fun with this re-draw of @haydenminh__ ! Thank you for reminding me of what really matters (and what doesn’t) in this lifetime.
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Mushroom facts...
🍄 Mycelium is the part of the fungi that grows underground & kinda looks like a root system! Mycelium grows cell-by-cell, can extend for miles, and can live for hundreds of years if the conditions are right.
🌲 Trees use mycelium to communicate to each other underground.
🙊 One of the conditions for the evolution of humans may have been primates consuming psychedelic mushrooms.
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Original artist unknown.
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Image descriptions:
1) Cartoon-style drawing of Minh. Minh is kneeling, grasping a mushroom that has an all-knowing eye. The mushroom is trans-flag colors. 3 other mushrooms near Minh’s knees are rainbow colored and trans-flag colored. Minh is nude and full of tattoos, saying “Fuck the system”. The mushroom in Minh’s hand says “Fuck reality.”
2) The original drawing. This character has fair skin, red hair, and no tattoos. The mushrooms are yellow-green with all-knowing eyes. The mushroom being held says, “Fuck the system. Fuck reality. Fuck being a mushroom sitting here for eons waiting for you dumb fucks to see the truth.”

Missing my sister, my niblings, and the Bay. Keepi

Missing my sister, my niblings, and the Bay. Keeping them in my Moob (Hmong) diasporic heart... the lights that guide my way.❣️🐛
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Image descriptions:
1) Selfie of Tori & her sister Nany smiling on their hike. It’s a sunny day and genuine happiness.
2) Picture of the oceanside road curving along California coastlines.
3) Nany holding her camera during golden hour. There’s a large reflective pool and some cool architecture in the background.
4) Another view of the Pacific Ocean, taken with some fuzzy fronds in front.
5) Picture of Jax the grey cat, sitting as if he’s ready to eat some take out.

Compilation of Steven Universe fan art from 2015-2

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