Happy Payday Painting

Within individual desires, there lies tension. The world, through its competitive structure, serves as a catalyst for human cravings. My work addresses the full spectrum of these forces, from macroscopic perspectives to microscopic details. I observe the world transparently, projecting my personal aspirations upon the environment that envelops me. Bearing the fabric of traditional Korean clothing, and the marks of a struggle, the hands in paintings are colorful testaments to reunion celebrations. But they are also spectacular displays of dramatic duplicity. Uneasy embraces across history and geography, they hint at the painful reality of unending separation, clutching at fleeting and bittersweet happiness. Other paintings feature fighting politicians, their faces comically contorted. Are their exaggerated expressions real? Or are they merely playing, posing for the cameras, for us? By augmenting Korean history and traditions with my specific visual vocabulary, I interrogate inequalities not limited to human rights, cultural capital, and global power. Intertwining my personal story with that of society at large, my images lend emotional comfort, while questioning the veracity of what we pass on.