In Issue 5, we explore the rich and multifaceted relationships that have shaped the lives of ten more transnational Korean artists. Their interpretive graffiti, oil paintings, and mixed media works grapple with social disconnection while finding a sense of empowerment in meaningful bonds and diverse communities around the world. Satirical, philosophical, and always deeply human, their unique depictions of healing, inclusion, and resistance will awaken you to the sheer beauty and contradictions of interpersonal encounters across borders. So, take a look inside, break the creative ice, and join us as we experiment with form, play around with significant others, and boldly reimagine mainstream narratives of migration and belonging along the way.
STEWART COLLINS Editor-in-Chief
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JJUNAKIM_
JUNA KIM
A MILLION LITTLE PIECES
Juna Kim’s layered and fragmented works have been galvanized by Dutch painter, Hieronymus Bosch, in particular his intricate and surreal depictions of humanity, and remarkable ability to blend together elements of the ordinary, spiritual, and grotesque. Rooted in personal experiences and imagination, her human subjects often appear naked so as to avoid any preconceived notions or stereotypes. Expressionless, they achieve a sense of neutrality in a way that reduces racial tension and redefines difference and diversity as strengths for individuals, communities, and societies around the world. As a collective, however, these figures are incarcerated in a state of conformity, forever pressured to suppress desires and mask their true colors amidst the crowd.
Color Pencil, Conte and Acrylic on Canvas, 65 x 50cm.
TRAPPED PEOPLE 2 (2024)
JUNA’S CREATIVE PRACTICE BEGINS BY COLLECTING A PERSONAL ARCHIVE OF DRAWINGS, WRITINGS AND PHOTOGRAPHS THAT REFLECT THE AFFECTIVE AND MATERIAL DIMENSIONS OF HER IMMEDIATE SURROUNDINGS.
Color Pencil, Conte and Acrylic on Canvas. 80 x 60cm.
TRAPPED PEOPLE (2023)
Color Pencil, Pen and Acrylic on Canvas. 46 × 46 cm.
STAGE (2022)
Tweenkle! (2022). Pen, Crayon and Acrylic on Canvas. 91 x 117cm.
Using collage techniques and masking tape to form sharp lines, she houses fragmented moments in time within malleable imaginary spaces that change, merge, and fall apart at will. Evoking curiosity, her works evolve into unconventional worlds that shift with the changing landscape of her life, echoing the architectural patterns, natural forms, and cultural elements she encounters while living in London.
Color Pencil, Conte and Acrylic on Canvas. 120 × 120cm.
IN A VILLAGE 4 (2024)
Shooting Star (2022). Color Pencil, Pen and Acrylic on Canvas. 145 × 112cm.
IN A VILLAGE 2 (2024)
COLOR PENCIL, CONTE AND ACRYLIC ON CANVAS
120 × 120CM
IN A CATHARTIC FASHION, SHE INVITES THE AUDIENCE TO EMPATHIZE AND CONNECT WITH THE INDIVIDUALS, MONSTERS, AND DEMONS WITHIN, AT THE SAME TIME GLIMPSING INTO AN INNER WORLD SHAPED BY THE ETERNAL BEAUTY AND COMPLEXITY OF TRANSITION.
Color Pencil, Conte and Acrylic on Canvas. 120 × 120cm.
IN A VILLAGE 3 (2024)
CHERINI.KUNST
CHAERIN PARK
BECOMING NATURE
In the past, Chaerin Park centered her works around the fear and aesthetic that arise while confronting the incomprehensibility of nature. During her time as a student in Vienna, however, she realized that the diversity of people around her were in fact as incomprehensible as nature itself.
Since relocating to Vienna, Chaerin has often felt as though the common sense she once knew in Korea is no longer valid. Her works reflect a pervasive complex of inadequacy, the need to constantly prove herself, and the lingering concern that her sense of self may eventually vanish without a trace.
UNTITLED
UNTITLED (STUDY OF LIFE BY THE SEA) (2021)
Acrylic on Canvas. 40 x 30cm.
(2021)
Acrylic on Paper. 120 x 85cm.
FOR CHAERIN, BEING SUBMERGED BY A VARIETY OF LANGUAGES, SOME UNKNOWN, HAS A WAY OF ELICITING A TYPE OF ANXIETY, AS IF STRANDED ALONE IN SOME UNINHABITED FOREST. WHILE SHE LONGS TO UNDERSTAND THESE VOICES, AND THEY STRUGGLE TO UNDERSTAND HER, A SEED OF SADNESS GROWS FROM THE HAUNTING PROSPECT OF NEVER TRULY UNDERSTANDING ONE ANOTHER AT ALL.
Living overseas conjures up a sensation of being bound to one’s physical body, unable to escape the burdensome existence of being human. As such, Chaerin’s perennially mobile subjects opt to become a part of nature, morphologically entwined like trees in the woods. Nonetheless, despite their efforts to seek quiet and interconnected lives as plants, they continue to scream with blood clots as if destined to carry the traumas of life as a physical being.
Untitled (Tree Person) (2023). Oil on Canvas. 160 x 120cm.
Ton in Ton Series 1 (2023). Oil on Canvas. 120 x 80cm.
AS A VISUALIZATION OF INNER TURMOIL, CHAERIN’S FIGURES ARE OFTEN FOUND ALONE AND IN DESPERATE SITUATIONS WITHOUT CONTEXT, REPRESENTING THE SENSE OF NON BELONGING AND INSTABILITY SHE HERSELF HAS ENDURED. RATHER THAN RUN FOR THE HILLS, THE ACT OF CREATION COMPELS HER TO COME TO TERMS WITH NEGATIVE EMOTIONS, VISCERAL PAIN, AND THE SHEER NECESSITY OF EMPATHIZING WITH THOSE AROUND.
Like composing a diary entry, Chaerin paints on days when a particular human encounter or moment in nature leaves a lasting impression on her life. As she points out, “I am not the one who uses the paint; rather, the paint and I create the work together.” Her palette, which begins with essential primary colors, gradually transforms into random variants as hues mix continuously on a single brush. Tempted by the intellectual desire to eliminate complexity and find comfort the easy way, placing herself on an equal footing with the paint enables her to depict human forms and natural objects without judgment as they truly are, and as they genuinely aspire to be.
Acrylic on Canvas. 100 x 80cm.
IN THE GRAPE FOREST (2023)
Oil on Canvas. 200 x 230cm.
UNTITLED (TREE PEOPLE) (2024)
The Reader (2023). Oil on Wood Panel. 35.56 x 30.48cm.
YOOYEON NAM
MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE
YOOYEON_NAM
At the age of 21, Yooyeon Nam attended a music festival for the first time, developing a fascination for the alternative rock band, Nell. Nell’s music inspired a period of self-reflection for Yooyeon, during which she revised future goals and questioned her default status as a bookworm and business administration major. With clarity, everything thus far in her life seemed like an elaborate deception, pragmatic on the one hand, yet far removed from her creative sensibilities on the other.
IN THE FOLLOWING YEARS, SHE MEANDERED AROUND KOREA ENGAGING IN VARIOUS ARTISTIC TECHNIQUES, BEFORE FINALLY SETTING HER SIGHTS ON STUDYING OIL PAINTING IN THE UNITED STATES.
After living in New York for over six years, she has now become accustomed to the city, its art scenes, and the tailored living arrangements and friendship circles she has made along the way. At times, the thought of “going home” is a frightening proposition indeed.
Oh Well, the Truth Is... (2023). Oil on Canvas. 101.6 x 76.2cm.
Caring (2024). Oil on Canvas. 30.48 x 30.48cm.
In Korea, Yooyeon’s works have often been met with a sense of fear and trepidation. While this limited and culturally-specific reception has been a cause for concern, audiences in NYC have endeavored to interpret her expressions in greater depth. This open-minded ethos, coupled with new and challenging encounters in unfamiliar settings, has reinvigorated Yooyeon’s passion for art, and given her the confidence needed to experiment with the theme of alienation in her paintings.
Heavy or Light (2024). Oil on Canvas. 60.96 x 45.72cm.
Once alienated alongside the capitalistic masses in Korea, a sense of alienation only intensified for Yooyeon along the incredibly diverse sidewalks of NYC. In her works, the round-faced, noseless characters are born into the world without a sense of purpose, embodying the universality of alienation. They can also be viewed as culturally symbolic portraits, with many of them possessing downcast eyes devoid of pupils.
INDEED, WHILE INDIVIDUALS IN KOREA TEND NOT TO LOOK ONE ANOTHER IN THE EYES, NEW YORKERS OFTEN TAKE DIRECT EYE CONTACT AS A GIVEN. IN MANY RESPECTS, THE OBSTACLE-LADEN EXISTENCES OF THESE CHARACTERS REFLECT THE DIFFICULTIES YOOYEON HAS FACED AT THE INTERSECTION OF EAST AND WEST.
Night and I and Small Animals (2023). Oil on Canvas. 60.96 x 60.96cm.
Taking the form of Buddhist statues such as the Pensive Bodhisattva, their bodies are cast in static poses beyond the point of imitation, forever reminding us of the need to move through life with clear intention and direction. Although they may appear similar, each character behaves differently in changing contexts, embracing and rejecting one another, and forming new identities depending on Yooyeon’s creative license.
Making international friends was once a means for Yooyeon to distance herself from Korean culture. In the end, the path she took transcended stereotypical markers of identity such as nationality or place of birth. Coming to terms with alienation, she knows that she is free and fortunate enough to forge a sense of self via her own independent choices, and while making such choices is perplexing at times, it is ultimately the most meaningful part of her life’s adventure.
To heighten a sense of incongruity, Yooyeon blends dark tones with dreaminspired hybrid colors unthinkable in everyday life. She also employs a loose style of oil painting, with her lower-layer colors only revealing themselves as one layer dries and another is applied. To maximize this effect, she often works with a quick-drying medium that serves to thicken the paint. In this way, when one gazes at Yooyeon’s paintings from afar, the shapes within appear perfectlyformed, only to visibly clump together in a brazenly honest fashion upon closer inspection. Like individual differences, these clumps should not, and simply cannot be erased.
Payback (2024). Oil on Canvas. 30.48 x 30.48cm.
Vision (2024). Oil on Canvas. 35.56 x 27.94cm.
Siblings (2023). Oil on Canvas. 91.44 x 91.44 cm.
NAMU CHOI
THE FIRES WITHIN
Backpacking in India, Turkey, and China in her twenties, Namu Choi relished the chance to discover diverse landscapes and cultures while conversing with travelers far and wide. Although mesmerized by the vast array of plant species, the color of the soil, and even the density and smell of the air, she always felt as though the dynamics of residents in local communities, as well as their coexistence with nature, took on similar patterns irrespective of the geographical location. Having married a Japanese national and relocated to Japan,
Namu’s status shifted from the intrepid traveler to that of a migrant. Previously, nationality was merely an entry pass needed to pass between borders, but now, Namu’s nationality morphed into a starkly different and omnipresent marker of stigma. To spark up conversations with locals, she often found herself having to prove that she was Korean and craft narratives of Korean-ness on the fly. Unable to cultivate roots in either country, a feeling of estrangement from both Korea and Japan began to set in.
Floating Houses 1 (2018). Acrylic on Canvas. 72.7 x 53.1cm.
AFTER A LONG HIATUS, THE DESIRE TO UNFOLD HER LIVED EXPERIENCES AS A TRANSNATIONAL ARTIST INSPIRED NAMU TO START PAINTING AGAIN. THE FIGURES IN HER WORKS EMERGED AS TINY, FACELESS, AND MANIFOLD. EXPRESSIONLESS, THESE ALTER EGOS SHOWCASED THEIR FEELINGS ONLY THROUGH SUBTLE GESTURES, ALL THE WHILE ACCLIMATIZING TO THE CREATIVE LANDSCAPES IN WHICH THEY HAPPENED TO RESIDE.
For Namu, a house is both an anxiety-laden construct as well as a sanctuary, often expressed as floating about unrooted, without windows or doors, or engulfed by gigantic mountains or waves. Symbolic of social media, her tiny figures can be seen walking on or clinging to fragile threads that subtly connect one house to the next. These frail, thus easily breakable strands of chance encounters provide Namu with a shred of hope, reinforcing the fact that she does exist, and is not isolated in this world after all.
Connected 2 (2018). Oil on Canvas. 72.9 x 60.9cm.
Hide and Seek 1 (2021). Oil on Canvas. 91.0 x 65.8cm.
In a surprising turn, the COVID 19 pandemic tempered down the burdens of Namu’s migrant status. Her works entitled “Hide and Seek” and “Exit” demonstrate an inner shift that took place during this period, with Namu’s figures growing in stature and sporting more developed and nuanced faces.
Appearing as trees and animals in all corners of her paintings, they symbolize her efforts to actively shape the landscapes of her life as opposed to quietly assimilating into given circumstances. Although certainly surreal, the pandemic for Namu reinforced the borderless nature of the Information Age, as well as new possibilities to care for one another regardless of nationalities, languages, or cultures.
(2021). Oil on Canvas. 53.2 x 41.2cm.
Hide and Seek 5 (2021). Oil on Canvas. 33.4 x 53.1cm.
Following the pandemic, Namu drew inwardly even more. Indeed, the overwhelming burden of protecting her family in the face of danger ended up driving her to the verge of extreme lethargy. It was at this point that she decided to revive her long-neglected and withered plant pots, rejuvenating herself with the strong vitality of nature and reclaiming memories of the incredible flora that graced her life in South Okinawa during the early days of her immigration.
A Person Who Sets Green Fire 4 (2023). Oil on Canvas. 33.3 x 53.1cm.
Oil on Canvas. 53.2 x 45.6cm.
GREEN FIRE 1 (2022)
IN HER “GREEN FIRE” SERIES, FIRE IS REPRESENTED AS A RESUSCITATING RATHER THAN AN ALL-CONSUMING FORCE. DESPITE BEING POSITIONED AT THE ECOSYSTEM’S ROCK BOTTOM, THE ENERGY EMANATING FROM HER FLORA IS FIERCELY POSITIVE, CONSTANTLY REPRODUCING AND SPREADING LIKE WILDFIRE TO CREATE ENTIRE FORESTS AMIDST OTHERWISE DESOLATE ENVIRONMENTS. MOREOVER, THE FIGURES IN THESE PAINTINGS IMBIBE THE CONDENSED ENERGY OF NATURE, PROJECTING INNER FIRE VIA LASER BEAMS IN A MORE DETERMINED MANNER, AND EVOLVING INTO STRONG-WILLED CREATURES WITH NEWFOUND TWINKLES IN THEIR EYES.
A Person Who Sets Green Fire (2023). Oil on Canvas. 112.2 x 145.7cm.
OIL ON CANVAS
TEAR BEAM 6 (2023) 72.7 X 60.6CM
A Person Who Sets Green Fire 1 (2023). Oil on Canvas. 112.2 x 145.7cm.
Namu’s take on the identity of a transnational artist is to do away with the notion of stereotypical understandings and break down the binary sentiments defined by boundaries and borders. When unaware of Namu’s residence in Japan, her audience tends not to read nationality into her paintings. Upon discovering her residence, however, many comment on the “Japanese influences and Korean sentiments” that underpin her works. Having met with these rather ironic encounters, she concluded that these points of view on “difference” are not necessarily a matter of belonging, for a sense of isolation or identity crisis might even occur among those who have lived exclusively in their home countries. At the end of the day, “difference” for Namu is not delineated by nationality. Instead, it is best understood by celebrating “individual diversities,” and the unique ways individuals explore and nurture their inner worlds in the context of their multidimensional surroundings.
Why So Trippy (2023). Mixed Media on Paper Mounted on Wood Panel. 72.7 x 60.6cm.
JUNGCHEOL LIM
OFF THE WALL
Having attended an art school in Korea when young, Jungcheol Lim devoted his time and energy to learning watercolor techniques and drawing in a predetermined format and method. During a trip to New York in his second year of middle school, however, he visited a collection of fascinating art spaces where the eclectic sparks of creativity motivated him to transcend the rigidity of formal studies.
After middle school, he immigrated to Canada where he frequently visited art museums and crafted a portfolio that celebrated his tastes and inclinations. He then majored in Fine Art at Columbus College of Art, making friends with graffiti artists in the neighborhood who so often broke the rules and indulged in emancipatory acts of self-expression.
Jungcheol was impressed by the way graffiti, vandalism art, and murals were repeatedly created and erased. Indeed, chance expressions changed the face of the urban landscape, and subtle cracks and areas of fading combined and harmonized with street art elements over time. Melting the borders between art and daily life, they continued to offer inspiration to those passing by.
Midnight (2024). Mixed Media on Paper Mounted on Wood Panel. 52 x 36cm.
Stopover (2024). Mixed Media and Digital. 1918 x 1202px.
Using oil-based pens to reinforce a sense of play and experimentation, he now arranges drawings of people and text in a free-flowing and highly improvised manner. The characters in his works retain a distinctly cartoon and illustrative feel, re-interpreting and sublimating public textures onto the canvas or paper in a way that honors the spirit of the North American streets. In particular, Jungcheol’s rabbit and female faces are important symbolic elements that channel the complexities of identity formation, evoke a sense of empathy, and subvert stereotypical points of view. For Jungcheol, the woman’s face is informed by the religious paintings and iconography he once admired while at church. Like a statue of the Virgin Mary, her face becomes a potent mirror capable of projecting the lived experiences and emotions of the beholder.
Mixed Media and Digital. 1918 x 1184px.
FEMALE GENERAL (2021)
BLACK BUNNY (2023)
PAYMENT(2024)
Mixed Media on Paper Mounted on Wood Panel. 55 x 46cm.
In Eastern culture, the rabbit takes on a lunar edge as it crosses the boundary between reality and imagination, often symbolizing collective hopes of longevity and prosperity. Similarly, in Jungcheol’s works, the rabbit manifests as a mystical being that possesses the secrets of the universe. Just as the textures of a wall are formed by an accumulation of traces, the spirit of the rabbit as handed down over multiple generations also transcends the flow of time.
Through his protagonists and mediators, Jungcheol presents his audience with a fusion of largerthan-life cross-cultural narratives. He also invites us to take a little segment of his artistic wall with us, tinker with it, and ultimately reconstruct it via interpretation on our own unique terms.
Mixed Media on Canvas. 130 x 130cm.
FOREVER (2024)
Mixed Media and Digital. 1280 x 1280px.
THINK TWICE (2024)
Portraits
JUNE AHN
BLURRED BOUNDARIES
Through her paintings, sculptures, and installations, June Ahn reveals the emotional constellations that come to light while living abroad. She is deeply influenced by the substance of interpersonal bonds across borders, many of which are marked by a lingering sense of absence and loss.
After Free-Falling (2024). Charcoal, Pencil on Paper. 39.4 x 54.5cm.
Now a student at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, June has spent lengthy periods of time away from her nearest and dearest. Siphoned into a lonely vacuum by a strong form of transnational gravity, she has often grappled with feelings and sensations that simply cannot be articulated in words. Above all, linguistic barriers have restricted June’s ability to disclose inner truths about discriminatory practices on the ground, as well as a shifting sense of self that raged beneath the surface.
In A Narrow Cube (2024). Oil on Canvas. 120 x 100cm.
PORTRAITS OF SIDE-SPACE SERIES (2024)
WHILE WORKING ON HER “PORTRAITS OF SIDE-SPACE” SERIES, JUNE DECIDED TO PAY A VISIT TO THE EXHIBITION VENUE IN ADVANCE. ALTHOUGH SMALL AND NARROW, SHE WAS TAKEN ABACK BY HOW PRIVATE AND INTIMATE IT ALL FELT, LIKE A BLANK CANVAS WITH DISTINCT SANCTUARY VIBES. MOVED BY THIS INVITING VESSEL OF OPPORTUNITY, SHE WAS ABLE TO OPEN ENLIGHTENED CLEARINGS IN WHICH TO UNLEASH ABSTRACT SENTIMENTS AND MATERIALIZE LONG-MARGINALIZED SECRETS ABOUT HER MIGRATORY EXPERIENCE.
Oil on Canvas.
(2024). Oil on Canvas. 120 x 160cm.
PORTRAITS
In the face of bewildering surges of instability and alienation, unlikely encounters with international peers have encouraged June to empathize across contextual divides. As cultural trailblazers, her artistic subjects do not represent specific individuals or definitive physical forms. Improvised in a blurry cloud of oil paints and pastels, their genders, orientations, and broader social coordinates cannot be clearly distinguished and thus essentialized.
Oil on Canvas. 180 x 140cm.
OF SIDE-SPACE 2 (2024)
BY RELOCATING HER SUBJECTS IN A REALM WHERE IDENTITIES ARE LIBERATED FROM GRANDER CULTURAL NARRATIVES AND THE PULLS OF COLLECTIVE CONSCIOUSNESS, SHE ALLOWS THEM TO PIVOT DEPENDING ON WHERE THEY ARE EXHIBITED, AND EXIST IN A MORE FLUID, MOULDABLE, AND AUTONOMOUS STATE OF EXISTENCE.
Oil on Canvas. 180 x 140cm.
PORTRAITS OF SIDE-SPACE 1 (2024)
SORYUN AHN
THE LIVES OF DRIFTERS
Soryun Ahn adored the way novels, films, and paintings could transcend languages and cultural boundaries, “profoundly and inexplicably resonating with a young girl living in a small nation in the East.” While going on to meet individuals and consume rich narrative traditions across borders in the United States and Eastern Europe, mobility has empowered Soryun to look at herself from afar and reflect upon where she stands with greater sensitivity.
The Tree, Recurring Traces (2024). Oil and Lacquer Spray on Linen. 230 x 158cm.
Oil on Linen. 140 x 120cm.
THE MELANCHOLY OF THE BEAST (2024)
The figures that appear in works such as “The Melancholy of the Beast” or “The Angel on the Street” manifest as human-beast hybrids, embodying contradictory elements and revealing an unsettling sense of indefinable ambiguity.
Oil on Canvas. 70 x 60cm.
THE ANGEL ON THE STREET (2023)
THOSE LIKE THE WOMAN DEPICTED IN “THE WILD I” APPEAR TO FLOAT, UNTETHERED TO THE GROUND WITH A VAGUE SHADOW THAT APPEARS TO WANDER FORWARD AIMLESSLY YET INCESSANTLY. LIKE SORYUN, SHE DRIFTS BETWEEN SPACES, NEVER FULLY BELONGING AND CONSTANTLY WALKING A TIGHTROPE ALONG THE FAULTS WHERE DISPARATE WORLDS MEET AND OFTEN COLLIDE. THESE ARE BEINGS THAT REJECT INTERPRETATIONS WITHIN CONVENTIONAL FRAMEWORKS OF MEANING, POWERING ON AUTONOMOUSLY IN SEARCH OF THEIR OWN SIGNIFICANCE IN THIS WORLD.
WILD I (2023)
SORYUN’S CHARCOAL SKETCHES OFTEN ACT AS PRELIMINARY STUDIES FOR MORE EXPANSIVE OIL PAINTINGS, IDEAL FOR CONVERTING FLEETING THOUGHTS AND SENTIMENTS INTO VISUAL FORM.
Charcoal on Paper. 84.2 x 63cm.
A NIGHT OF VOID (2023)
Completed on occasion with a swift, single brushstroke, and at times requiring the meticulous layering of multiple coats, her oil paintings reinforce the complexity and uncertainty of Soryun’s life. Like a visual ethnographer who begins to inhabit the lived experiences of others on an intersubjective level, the irregular rhythms and coexistence of sharp bursts and elongated processes create imaginative possibilities for viewers to momentarily envision alternative contexts, and anchor their everyday lives in the illuminating medium of art.
SEMI KWON
MOUNTAINS OUT OF MOLE HILLS
After moving to Sri Lanka when young, Semi’s outsider status compelled her to challenge the often maddening concept of perfection. In “Spotted,” she continues to unravel the mysteries of first impressions, spotlighting moles as distinctive, truthful, and impartial characteristics that immediately attract the often piercing gazes of strangers passing by. Encapsulating the experiences of foreigners far from home, these moles are admired as beautiful imperfections by some, while derided as deviant blemishes and uninvited disturbances by others at the same time.
Oil on Canvas. 120 x 100cm.
SPOTTED I (2023)
LIKE AGING SKIN, THE LIFE OF A TRANSNATIONAL ARTIST IS A PROCESS OF ACCUMULATION AND OVERLOAD. FOR SEMI, IT HAS BEEN A LIFE SPENT SEARCHING FOR AUTHENTICITY AMIDST MOMENTS OF SELF-CONSTRUCTED SOLITUDE. LIKEWISE, THE FIGURES THAT APPEAR IN HER WORKS ARE FREQUENTLY DEPICTED ALONE, CHERISHING PERSONAL SPACE AND BLOCKING OUT NOISE IN A WORLD THAT MOVES EVER SO SWIFTLY.
Oil on Canvas. 30 x 30cm.
SPOTTED IV (2023)
Oil on Canvas. 100 x 80cm.
SPOTTED II (2023)
THERE’S NO REASON TO HIDE (2021)
SILVERLINING
In a therapeutic sense, Semi employs a sharp palette knife to scrape off layers of paint and provide some breathing room for the hidden textures that lie beneath. Pleasurable, exciting, and revelatory, this creative process reconciles the volatile duality between thought and feeling, helping Semi to remain mentally sharp and emotionally sensitive while en-route to places unknown.
Oil on Canvas. 72 x 54cm.
Oil on Canvas. 162 x 140cm.
(2023)
HAVING MADE A FRESH START IN VIENNA, SEMI NOW CONCENTRATES ON THE MYCELIUM NETWORK, ILLUMINATING IN HER WORKS THE ESSENTIAL INTERCONNECTIONS BETWEEN LIVING ORGANISMS ACROSS AND WITHIN VARIOUS ECOSYSTEMS. IN DOING SO, SHE HOPES TO FOREGROUND THE SUBTLE WAYS IN WHICH ALL HUMAN BEINGS DEPEND UPON SIGNIFICANT OTHERS.
Oil on Canvas. 60 x 50cm.
TOO CLOSE (2021)
Oil on Canvas. 40 x 40cm.
ICARUS (2024)
Semi Kwon often marvels at the many obsessions that fuel her creativity, opening up a remarkable lens with which to navigate her life in-between cultures.
ALTHOUGH TARNISHED IN PART BY SOCIAL EXPECTATIONS, STEREOTYPES, POWER GEOMETRIES, AND POLITICS, BONDING FOR SEMI REMAINS AN INTEGRAL, ALBEIT CONTRADICTORY PART OF SURVIVAL, GROWTH, AND IDENTITY FORMATION – WHEREVER SHE HAPPENS TO RESIDE.
Oil on Canvas. 70 x 50cm.
(2022)
JUNYARTS
JUN YANG
BODIES INTERTWINED
Time spent in Belgium, France, and Ireland shaped Jun into a global citizen, at the same time enabling him to safely explore his queerness in the company of new and wonderful friends.
Discovering the ubiquitous nature of love and hate, he came to realize that much of the pain he experienced in the past actually originated from within. By combining traditional Korean designs with contemporary western art influences, Jun’s works connect with personal memories, emotions, and the resilient energies that pulsate within immigrant, LGBTQIA+, and BIPOC communities around the world.
Acrylic on Canvas. 177.8 x 152.4 cm.
HERE & NOW (2024)
Jun Yang draws inspiration from his experiences as a queer immigrant, as well as the journey of navigating cultural differences and learning to express his queer identity without fear.
Acrylic on Canvas. 76.2 x 60.96cm. RAINBOW RIDE (2022)
Living in an open-minded and welcoming city like San Francisco has privileged Jun with the chance to create art without social constraints. Despite enduring struggles with online censorship, the support and acceptance he has found there continues to fuel his creativity and guide his understanding of identity and belonging as a transnational artist.
Through his large-scale paintings, he depicts moments of connection with his chosen family and artist friends in San Francisco’s many beautiful parks. These spaces, which were once secret havens where Queer individuals could explore their love and sexuality, now inspire a vision where bodies intertwine, connect, heal, confidently take up space, and express themselves securely and unapologetically in the light of day.
Acrylic on Canvas. 50.8 x 50.8cm.
THE QUIET HOUR (2024)
Acrylic on Canvas. 76.2 x 76.2cm.
SOULFUL GARDEN (2024)
Transitions (2023). Acrylic on Canvas. 76.2 x 101.6cm.
NATURE AND PROTECTION
JUN ALSO STRIVES TO BALANCE HIS HERITAGE WITH HIS CURRENT LIFE, UNTANGLING FEELINGS OF LONELINESS, RECOVERING FROM PAIN, AND FINDING HIMSELF ANEW. THROUGH HIS THREE-DIMENSIONAL WOOD CUT AND SOFT SCULPTURES, HE VISUALIZES A SENSE OF LONELINESS AND FEAR TRACING BACK TO HIS TEENAGE LIFE IN KOREA. THESE PIECES ACT AS A BRIDGE BETWEEN PAST TRAUMAS AND ADULTHOOD IN THE PRESENT, CONTENDING WITH THE LACK OF ROLE MODELS, BULLYING, HARASSMENT, AND PHYSICAL ABUSE BY EDUCATORS AND PEERS THAT SEVERELY MARKED JUN’S CHILDHOOD. DESIGNED TO HANG ON WALLS OR BE DISPLAYED ON PODIUMS, HIS SCULPTURES ACTIVATE A MULTISENSORY CONTACT ZONE THAT INVITES VIEWERS TO WRAP THEIR BODIES AROUND IN SPONTANEOUS SHOWS OF SOLIDARITY.
Acrylic on Wood. 68.58 x 63.5cm.
(2023)
Self Hug (2023). Mixed Media on Canvas, Thread and Stuffing. 101.6 x 72.6cm.
Using textiles, acrylic ink stained on canvases or muslin, and oil-based materials, Jun creates depth in a way that puts the intricate emotional and cultural layers that defined him at center stage. His sculptures are tender and soft, contrasting with hard materials such as metal and bronze traditionally used in sculpture making. Subverting the harsh and personally unrelatable masculinity of typical sculptures, he paints and sews directly onto softer materials to create a more tactile and welcoming experience. To reflect his personal resurgence as an artist, he also uses cardboard boxes, transforming discarded materials into containers of hope and giving them a second chance at life.
Acrylic on Canvas, Thread and Stuffing. 45.72 x 53.34cm.
TWO FACES (2024)
Acrylic on Panel. 40.64 x 30.48cm.
STUDY (2024)
ADDITIONALLY, JUN USES CALLIGRAPHY TECHNIQUES AND TRADITIONAL KOREAN COLORS LIKE THOSE IN DANCHEONG OR BOJAGI TO CREATE A VISUAL LANGUAGE THAT RESONATES WITH BOTH PERSONAL AND COLLECTIVE EXPERIENCES. THROUGH THESE METHODS, HE AIMS TO REACH A NEW GENERATION OF QUEER TEENAGERS, INCENTIVIZING THEM TO FEEL MORE CONNECTED, REJUVENATED, AND AT LIBERTY TO BE AND FLAUNT THEIR AUTHENTIC SELVES.
JOURNEY OF THE IN-BETWEEN
MIXED MEDIA ON PANEL
50.8 X 40.64CM
DOHYUN BAEK
It was not until a move to India during high school that Dohyun Baek’s passion for art turned into a serious pursuit. Based in Delhi for five years, he found the experience of adapting to a new culture, language, and way of life profoundly disorienting. Nevertheless, painting in an unfamiliar environment taught Dohyun that playfulness, experimentation, and even failure are in fact all integral facets of creativity as well as self-understanding.
IF THE EARTHWORM DIES, WHO IS GOING TO CULTIVATE THE SOIL
Acrylic on Canvas. 190 x 140cm.
(2022)
Acrylic on Canvas. 200 x 150cm.
CUCKOO HAS TWO MOTHERS (2023)
DOHYUN’S DECISION TO STUDY FINE ART IN THE U.K. WAS HEAVILY INFLUENCED BY THE WORK OF YOUNG BRITISH ARTISTS (YBAS) SUCH AS SARAH LUCAS AND DAMIEN HIRST. INDEED, THE SUBVERSIVE AND SATIRICAL NATURE OF THEIR ART LEFT A LASTING IMPRESSION ON DOHYUN DURING HIS HIGH SCHOOL DAYS. IN PARTICULAR, SARAH LUCAS’ BOLD AND PROVOCATIVE SCULPTURES, OFTEN CENTERED ON THE HUMAN BODY, HAVE BEEN A KEY SOURCE OF INSPIRATION FOR DOHYUN’S OWN FEARLESS AND REBELLIOUS EXPLORATION OF FORM, EXPRESSION, AND THE THEME OF HUMAN VULNERABILITY.
Acrylic on Canvas. 62 x 46 cm.
PLAN FOR PEACE (2024)
THE NARRATIVES AND MATERIALS DOHYUN EMPLOYS REFLECT PERSONAL EXPERIENCES OF FEELING FOREIGN BOTH IN PLACE AND WITHIN HIMSELF. AT TIMES SELF-PORTRAITS, HIS WORKS DEPICT A FUSION OF BRITISH AND KOREAN IDENTITIES, CAPTURING THE UNDERLYING AND OVERLYING ANXIETIES OF LIVING AS AN ARTIST IN LONDON.
Acrylic on Canvas. 160 x 140cm.
BIRTH OF VENUS (2022)
Caught in a “double whammy situation,” Dohyun remains an outsider by virtue of not being British, and as an artist, he exists on the periphery by default. While London is certainly a place of energy, celebration, opportunity, and inspiration, it is also rife with discomfort, sacrifice, loneliness and comparison in a way that culminates in an almost inescapable sense of vulnerability for many.
Minding My Own Business (2024). Acrylic on Canvas. 200 x 160cm.
Dohyun’s grim imagery and juvenile humor invite reflection on the complexities and paradoxes of contemporary existence, his vision of unconventional beauty, excrement, and toilet motifs constantly contemplating the future of human embodiment in a world fascinated with the integration of flesh and machine. For him, human waste is a primitive symbol of struggle, acting in stark contrast to the cerebral, clinical tendencies of modern technology, and once again elevating bodily functions from mere biological processes into reflections on what it means to be human.
Don Quixote and His Stool (2023). Acrylic and Spray on Canvas. 160 x 140cm.
DOHYUN ALSO PLAYS WITH THE TENSION BETWEEN POWER AND VULNERABILITY, JUXTAPOSING STRENGTH AND AUTHORITY WITH SADNESS AND FRAILTY IN A WAY THAT CREATES A FEELING OF UNCERTAINTY. BY TURNING A MUNDANE BODILY FUNCTION INTO A TRANSCENDENTAL INSTRUMENT OF RESISTANCE, HOWEVER, HE PROVES THAT EVEN THE MOST BASIC ASPECTS OF HUMAN EXISTENCE CAN BE REIMAGINED AS MEANINGFUL ACTS OF REFLECTION, PROTEST OR EMPOWERMENT.
The Dolphin Has to Resurface to Breathe (2022). Acrylic on Canvas. 160 x 140cm.
