Heavy or Light Painting

I am a Korean-born, New York-based oil painter. My works, through my characters, explore the weird nature of the world, where we are disconnected within our own communities. I investigate what it means to be an outsider in both my own and chosen cultures. Beyond cultural hardships, life itself is inherently strange, lacking innate meaning or predetermined purpose. This eerie discomfort is further evoked through a wide array of colors and mysterious narratives. By depicting my overly cute and adorable characters as suffering or being violent, I accentuate the sense of uncanniness, paradoxically intensifying the seriousness of my narratives. My round-faced, nose-less characters reflect both my sense of displacement and my cultural heritage. Their blank faces and weird eyes echo norms where direct eye contact and overt emotional expression are considered impolite, a contrast to environments where eye contact is expected. I combine this alienation with my admiration for Buddha sculptures with idealized body forms that are believable, yet anatomically incorrect—qualities I aim to capture in my work.