This work—part of the artist's The Tsugigami Tiger series—is made using the Japanese tsugigami craft tradition, which is similar to collage. This piece is made by overlaying two prints. One is made with white ink on black paper, while the other is made with black ink on white paper. Additional torn and cut elements are then carefully glued atop the first two sheets. The multiple layers create the perception that the tiger is emerging from a fog. Like other works from the artist, this painting contains elements that reference both global art history and various interconnected cultural iconographies. The tiger serves as the central motif of this work and is suggestive of a range of art historic and craft traditions. But it also serves as a personal reference for the artist.

This work was created for Kour Pour: Familiar Spirits, the artist’s debut solo exhibition with Kavi Gupta. The show was conceived around the idea of family—both the families we are born with and also the families we construct as our personal histories unfold. Pour explains how the tiger became a personal reference to his concept of family: “These tiger paintings originate from one of my best friends Phil, who is Korean and grew up in Chile. He became a tattoo artist. He has a big Korean tiger tattoo on his belly . . . We met in art school and immediately connected as the eldest siblings of our immigrant families. Although we have different cultural backgrounds, we found that we shared many similar experiences moving to the US and developed a kinship.” Familiar, yet startlingly fresh, this work hints at a shared world of similar stories and different backgrounds, where personal histories are fostered by the families we create.