About Me - Ann K. Chou

(she/her) Artist, Access Designer, and Artist-Scientist

I am a hard-of-hearing, neurodivergent, Hong Kong–born artist and access designer, currently active on the unceded lands of the ləķʗəŋən (Songhees and Esquimalt) and xʋməθkʋə̓ɛm (Musqueam) peoples—also known as Victoria and Vancouver, BC.

From Microscope to Lantern Light

My creative path began in microscopy photography during my early studies in Medical Laboratory Science—capturing intimate, unseen landscapes of life. As I worked in healthcare and informatics, I continued to explore photography, pottery, and community festival arts, discovering the expressive potential of light and texture.

Eventually, lantern-building became my medium: an accessible, communal, and sensory-rich language that could travel across both public spaces and diverse bodies. It led me toward installation, projection, puppetry, and ink brushwork—always guided by a respect for materials and the wisdom of lived experience.

Annreflection Studio: A Practice of Listening and Illumination

Annreflection Studio is where material meets meaning. I create multisensory works from upcycled paper, garden clippings, clear plastics, mesh, fabric, and vines—making space for stories beyond words. My work honors fragmentation and transformation: I believe materials, like people, can be broken and reformed in ways that carry light.

Each lantern, shadow-stage, or brush painting is an invitation—to pause, to reflect, to adapt. Whether in storefront windows or woodland trails, I design with mobility, texture, and tenderness in mind.

Accessibility as Creative Foundation

As a deaf and neurodivergent artist, I prioritize design for inclusion, not afterthought. My performances are often non-verbal. My exhibitions and workshops welcome alternative pacing, communication, and sensory experience.

• Visually expressive, low-audio formats
• Light, texture, projection, and scent for multi-sensory access
• Flexible, mobile works that adapt to space and weather
• Hands-on workshops with clear visual guidance and tactile materials

Art × Technology as Ethnography and Dialogue

Over more than 15 years working in hospitals and digital health, I’ve applied data visualization, ethnographic methods, and participatory co-design to digitally mediated care. I often met people in their everyday environments and brought a sense of critical hope into the design of personal health records—encouraging patients to express their experiences in ways that felt natural and meaningful to them.

In one co-design project exploring personal health records and agency, we discovered that even technologies carry personas. These tools revealed themselves not as neutral or mundane interfaces, but as expressive, symbolic beings—like butterflies, bats, dogs, and altars. These metaphors surfaced the emotional and cultural dimensions of care technologies, and they continue to shape how I design lanterns, workshops, and interactive experiences today.

As a hard-of-hearing, neurodivergent artist-scientist and access designer, I often rely on non-verbal, visual-spatial modes of reflection. My practice embraces alternative forms of communication—through light, movement, texture, and metaphor—to create spaces where data, care, and creativity can coexist. Whether in a clinical setting or a public art installation, I see each project as a dialogue: between systems and stories, between structure and softness.

Technology Is Never Neutral

My work explores not just how we use technology—but what technology is. At SFU, I studied its nature as both tool and relationship: shaped by values, pace, and purpose. I see paper, fabric, and light as “slow technologies” that invite care, not control. Through participatory co-design, multisensory methods, and storytelling, I design for relational access and shared meaning—whether in health systems or public art. Technology is never neutral; it reflects how we live, feel, and imagine together.

Let’s Collaborate to Build Access and Meaning

I welcome commissions, storefront activations, and cross-sector collaborations at the intersection of art, accessibility, and community care. With a background in healthcare and inclusive design, I bring a systems-informed approach to lantern-based artmaking that is adaptable, participatory, and environmentally responsive.

I invite partners across cultural, civic, and access-related sectors to help shape multisensory public experiences that are both artistically resonant and socially meaningful.

✨ Easy Read Bio

Hello! I’m Ann. I’m a Deaf and neurodivergent artist based in Victoria and Vancouver, BC.

• I make lanterns out of fabric, paper, light, vines, and plastic.
• I paint with black ink on translucent surfaces (called sumi-e).
• I build puppets and small stages using boxes and recycled materials.
• I perform without speaking—using movement, light, and shadow.

My art welcomes everyone. You do not need to hear or speak to enjoy it. I love to co-create projects that are fun, gentle, and accessible for all.

Stay Connected & Co-Create

Interested in a lantern-making or sumi-e storytelling workshop for your school, gallery, or community space? Let’s co-create accessible, sensory experiences together.

You can also support my small-scale art practice and inclusive arts research through a few offerings while I continue refining the full shop experience:

• 🖼️ Original sumi-e paintings – one-of-a-kind plein-air and brushwork pieces
• ✨ $6 custom art cards via Ko-fi – tiny works made to order
• 🎁 $5 surprise packs – joyful sensory bundles

For reflections on access design, brushwork process, or upcoming projects, you can also subscribe to:

• 📫 My Substack newsletter – stories and sketches from the studio

I’d love to hear what kind of content you’d like more of—art techniques, access culture, or collaborative walkthroughs. Reply anytime on Substack or email me at annreflection [at] gmail [dot] com.