Lala in La la land_Cherry Blossom Lala Sculpture

I debuted as a model and actress in 1999, and appeared in TV dramas, films, and theater until 2009. While working as an actress, I studied art history, art theory, artwork appraisal and painting. In 2009 I took a break and during this time I received psychology consultation at the Catholic Consultation Volunteer Course for more than one year, and met with my inner child “Lala” through the doll therapy. In February 2014, I participated in a special exhibition to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Segye Times titled "Three travellers" with Lee Wal-jong and Kim Kyoung-yeoul. Lately, I held a solo exhibition at the Gallery Artlink titled Kim HyunJung Solo Exhibition: Depiction & performance. In the same year I was invited to hold an exhibition at the Beijing Today Art Museum. The title of the exhibition was 'One Divided into Three – The Exhibition of Three Korean Artist'. I participated in the exhibition together with the work of the late Nam June Paik. My pictures and essays were published under the title 'Actress Painter Kim Hyun-jung’s Picture Talk' every week in The Segye Times from 2012 to 2013. In 2014, I published 'Lala’s Outing - My own Inner-Child Who Longs for Me' This work was a compilation of pictures and essays. I had been studying psychology consultation for a quite some time and I was looking for a way to integrate my inner and outer self. It was during this time that I was able to discover my 'inner child'. My inner child was the origin of my artistic inspiration. 'Lala' the rabbit doll represents my inner child and sets the present 'me' free from memories of the past. Before I knew it, the beautiful memories of my childhood was leading me. This was a victory over my inner darkness and a discovery of myself. I listened to the small voice of my inner child and expressed my desires and feelings through Lala the rabbit doll. Lala the rabbit doll and a dragonfly appears frequently in my work. If Lala is a conscious creation of the image of my inner child, the dragonfly is the subconscious image of my inner child. Both of the images are my self-portraits. It is the traditional style of Eastern art to use paintings as an reflection of our thoughts and feelings. Professor Peng Feng, curator of the Chinese Pavilion at the 54th Venice Biennale and supervisor of Ph.D candidates at Peking University wrote that as a painter I seem to be acting in the conversations with the masterpieces through the dragonfly and Lala. I become aware of the world and sought adventures through small existences like insects seen in the eyes of small children. The work of Qi BaiShi, the master of chinese painting (1860 - 1957), helped me to transform my experience of playing and catching insects in the countryside into works of art. I draw on silk using a traditional eastern technique called gongbi-hwa. The painting is done very carefully and precisely with the utmost case for details. I use embroidery in my work and I have developed my own technique called "hwaju-subo" (画主绣补) which has been evaluated to have brought new vitality to gongbi-hwa.