2024 - current

My work explores the interplay between narrative, identity, and the human psyche through figurative painting. Using myself as the subject in the nude, I strive to create authentic and original narratives that reclaim the female body as a subject of strength and introspection, rather than a vulnerable or objectified form.

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The narratives I depict are deeply personal, revisiting childhood memories and literature that shaped my understanding of identity while growing up in Korea. These stories resonate with broader themes of Asian identity and cultural introspection, inviting viewers to engage with the layered symbolism within each piece.

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Color plays a pivotal role in my work, serving as a vehicle for emotion and symbolism. Dominant hues establish the emotional tone of each painting: cool colors evoke distance, calm, or melancholy, while warm tones suggest intensity, curiosity, or vitality. The spaces I depict, often natural or liminal and empty, provide a contemplative backdrop that shifts focus to the figure’s gesture and expression. These undefined settings allow for open narratives, imbued with symbolic meanings such as fear, curiosity, vacancy, and eternity.

 

Through this approach, my work seeks to connect with universal human experiences while celebrating personal and cultural specificity, creating a dialogue between the internal and external worlds of my subjects and viewers.