My art practice is a way for me to make sense of the world. For me, creativity is the sweet spot between control and chaos. Through my art practice I feel I can tap into the unconsciousness side of my brain and as Georgia O'Keeffe said “through my paintings I can describe feelings and moods I cannot describe with words.” Nobody can say it better than that.
During the pandemic my work was concerned with human connection and the importance of community and touch. The paintings were very structured and the colour palette often quite strong with the colour red featuring heavily.
My latest work is looking inwards and responding to the feeling of the our collective need to speed up the process of making the right choices in regards to the climate and how we make a mark whilst we are here on this planet. With this shift the brush stokes and colours are lighter. I sense restlessness within young people, with many of my contemporaries questioning their purpose too, this urge for change within what our society deems valuable is also embedded in the energy of the new work.
My work will continue to mirror the world and how I experience it. My process and the mediums I embrace will change in time with the stories and subjects I want to address. At the heart of my practice lies the handmade and personal storytelling. What I value the most is the uniqueness of an individuals mark, be it made with a brush on canvas, pencil or pen on paper, an etching needle on a copper plate or objects shaped by hand in clay or wood. My idea of happiness is to be able to inhabit a space where one is allowed to stay inquisitive.
I am the happiest when I paint and the mind is calm, so my art practice is also very much linked to metal health. In a world where everything can feel very overwhelming I feel lucky that I have found something that gives me more.
“I believe colour communicates emotion, creates mood and speaks directly to the soul.”
My current body of work is informed by the way we as human beings relate and interact with each other. My collages and paintings are mostly abstract but if you look closely you might spot characters interacting within the frame, that’s if you choose to. I am interested in striking a balance between free expression of colours and brush strokes fuelled by human emotion and finding a moment of stillness. This is what I try to achieve within my collages and paintings. For me, the dots in my work represent islands of clarity and focus.
PROCESS
In my practice I stitch into my both work on paper and canvas. I find it equally therapeutic and petrifying making permanent holes in my paintings, but I like the 3D effect stitching adds to my work. I feel it gives the pieces body and dimension; it comes alive and feels complete. As an artist, I am dedicated to exploring how my visual language evolves over time.
COLOUR
I love experimenting with different colour combinations and find it exhilarating that no two individuals have the exact same colour taste, that our personal colour preference is shaped by who we are, where we have been and what we have experienced.
I was born in South Korea, and adopted in Norway where I lived until my early twenties before settling in London, the city that’s been my home for the past fifteen years. My personal colour preference is informed by many sources, but l always carry with me the colours of the sky, the beach and the mountain where I grew up. My childhood in Norway has given me my base palette, my love for all shades of blues, browns and greens. These are colours I always come back to. To add to this, I collect colour stories wherever I go. I collect these stories on my way to the studio, going back to Norway and on my travels. These fragmented colour combinations collected as photos act as catalysts for the more extensive colour work I undertake in my studio. Read my colour journal here
LINE
I found my line in my late twenties and it was broken. I draw with felt tip pens and permanent markers that are about to run out. I like the raw, scratchy effect they make. I try to harness some of the same energy in my both my prints and paintings. I explore this broken line in both my colour and monochrome work. I practice my drawings and monochrome work in between periods working extensively with colour and feel this work acts as palate cleanser.
STUDIO
I work from my studio at Cockpit Arts in Holborn central London. As a studio holder at Cockpit Arts I exhibit my work bi-annually during summer and Christmas open studios along with the other hundred and forty artists, designers and makers at Cockpit Arts. We get thousands of very loyal visitors coming to these shows. I have been a studio holder at Cockpit arts since 2013.
RESIDENCIES:
2024 XENIA RESIDENCY, CREATIVE RETREAT, HAMPSHIRE, UK
SOLO EXHIBITION:
2022 - May -September Oyna, Norway
2022 - Jan- May The Hoxton Shoreditch
2011 - ‘The Key To Happiness’ Gallery RE+ Norway
GROUP SHOWS:
2023 - The Affordable Art Fair Hampstead - with Brook Street Gallery
2023 - The Affordable Art Fair Battersea - with Brook Street Gallery
2022-Cockpit Arts winter open studio
2022 -Cockpit Arts Summer Open Studio
2022 - The Affordable Art Fair Hampstead - with Brook Street Gallery
2022 - The Affordable Art Fair Battersea - with Brook Street Gallery
2021 - The Other Art Fair, Brick Lane East London
2020-Cockpit Arts winter open studio
2020 -Cockpit Arts Summer Open Studio
2019 -Cockpit Arts winter open studio Deptford
2019 -Cockpit Arts winter open studio Holborn
2019 - The Other Art Fair Holborn
2019 -Cockpit Arts summer open studio Holborn
2018 -Cockpit Arts winter open studio Deptford
2018 -Cockpit Arts Winter open studio Holborn
2018 -Cockpit Arts summer open studio Holborn
2017 - Cockpit Arts winter open studio Deptford
2017 - Cockpit Arts winter open studio Holborn
2017 -Cockpit Arts summer open studio Holborn
2016 -Cockpit Arts winter open studio Deptford
2016 -Cockpit Arts winter open studio Holborn
2016 -Cockpit Arts summer open studio Holborn
2015 -Cockpit Arts winter open studio Deptford
2015 - Cockpit Arts winter open studio Holborn
2015 - Cockpit Arts summer open studio Deptford
2014 - Cockpit Arts winter open studio Deptford
2014 - Cockpit Arts winter open studio Holborn
2014 - Cockpit Arts summer open studio Deptford
2013 - 8 Miles from here. Deptford X London
2013 - Cockpit Arts winter open studio Deptford
2013 - Cockpit Arts winter open studio Holborn
2013 - 8 Miles from here Royal Festival Hall London
2011 - The Affordable Art Fair Hampstead, London - with Jealous Gallery
2011 - The Affordable Art Fair Battersea, London - with Jealous Gallery
Private collection:
Uk
Norway
USA
Netherland
Denmark
SELECTED DESIGN PROJECTS & COLLABORATIONS
Tate Modern
Tate Liverpool
40th Anniversary logo A-N The Artist Information Company
You can now purchase a selection of my work at CURIO. View the collection here
GUEST LECTURER:
CHELSEA UNIVERSITY
HEREFORD UNIVESITY
NOTTHINGHAM UNIVERISY