Breaking through the Deserted
Acrylic/Ink/Watercolor on Paper
39 x 54cm
January 2014
This piece captures an impoverished man who is escaping from the peak of water scarcity in deserted Africa. The idea of "global issues" is often deeply discussed around me, especially during my participation in summer internship at Asian Development Bank and SIP conferences at ISM. White acrylic paint is used to add minuscule points of perspiration and streaks of highlights surrounding the water dispenser for focal emphasis.
Sinking Treasures
Acrylic/Watercolor on Paper
39 x 54cm
February 2014
Driven by Industrial Revolution, this piece unleashes the surrealism behind environmental degradation at the zenith of the Anthropocene. Underwater buildings and oil stains on the paper wall show the ecosystem is disrupted by pollution in the ocean. However, the purpose is to say that disposed waste—shopping carts, old car tires, tofu plastic containers (common objects found outside E-mart, a shopping mall in Bucheon)—should still be valued; thus, depicted through the use of color contrast and form. Staccato rhythm is applied to the ocean splatter, symbolizing chaos and disorder caused by humans.
Hidden, yet Preserved
Acrylic on canvas
50.8 x 40.6cm
September 2012
This piece shows the concealed beauty of a Filipino woman despite the unresolved gender inequality in the Philippines. In order to clearly show the background, I added more color and details on the homogeneous buildings that illustrate a lively night of Taguig city—known as the globalized city. Lapu-lapu fish are wandering in the open water of Manila Bay as it feels freedom, as opposed to the Filipino woman who is exhausted from daily chores and labor.
Enlightenment via. Defense
Jewelry (beads & wires)
35 x 18.5 x 4cm
November 2012
This jewelry piece all started with my latest text message that read “ready”. This led me to brainstorm possible connotations of “ready”—protection, shield, security, action, military and weaponry—which helped me establish the context of medieval time period as the historical background of this piece. I used an array of wires where the thickest ones built the contour lines of the shield necklace and the thinnest ones joined the wooden beads. Filipino jewelry designer Rencie Santos taught me the basics of making accessories, which are looping and parallel twisting.
Calm & Collected
Jewelry (beads & wires)
Jewelry (beads & wires)
(size unknown)
October 2012
October 2012
Count Olaf, the Devious
Acrylic on Paper Mache
40 x 41 x 26cm
November 2013
Acrylic on Paper Mache
40 x 41 x 26cm
November 2013
One of the many films/novels I have read that thrillingly entails great challenges in escaping from horrid realities is Lemony Snicket’s The Series of Unfortunate Events. Based on this series, the sinister personality of antagonist Count Olaf is painted by the highlights on his eyebrows, high cheekbones, and dark shadows on his shoulders. The twisted hair represents his menace spiraling around his targets—the Baudelaire orphans. He is eyeless, because these orphans cannot easily predict his fiddly actions.
Delicate Prophesy
Beads, Wires and Strings
37.5 x 37.5 x 3.5cm
October 2013
Behind Count Olaf is a sculptural dream catcher that reflects the symbolic open glass window captured from the film series. The theme of ‘hope versus despair’ is expressed through the use of ominous black beads of misery pulled by the golden sun rays of hope. This juxtaposes Count Olaf’s significant trait—courteous on the outside, devious in the inside.
Seek the Microscopic
Acrylic/Watercolor on Paper
39 x 54cm
March 2014
This piece illustrates the challenges in discovering the tiniest building blocks of matter in shells. The distinctive features of the shells I have collected from Palawan and Puerta Galera are painted in watercolor. As a keen visual learner, I tend to compare the uses of various lenses in magnifying glass, digital camera, and my own pair of glasses. Utilizing filters in cameras, shown on the ribbon-like film strip, is a popular trend to spark realism, as opposed to magnifying lens.
Tea of Worship
Watercolor on paper
66 x 51cm
January 2013
As a workaholic, I drink tea and meditate in a daily routine to keep myself warm from ‘sweater weather’ which is why I thought of painting a soft cotton-made blue scarf—eventually symbolizing a scared waterfall from Villa Escudero to encompass the tea as a healthy, aromatic beverage for many Korean families. As a mixed media piece, the background is done in pencil as the cross-hatching lines and dark values demonstrate academic and family pressure while the portrait of my younger sister is painted in watercolor to denote peace and serenity.
Electrify Sustainability
Color Pencil/Watercolor on Paper
39 x 54cm
February 2014
I dreamt of an exciting possibility of living in a sustainable home. In watercolor, I painted some daily-used objects (pencils, glue, eraser, etc.) in an arrangement of a Chinese character “村” (Village), since the origin of Korean language involves traditional Chinese language. Electric cords and transformers in the background are drawn to increase awareness on energy consumption, while the organic lines of the plain field on the map symbolize ‘go-green’ movement.
Unchanged Home
Pencil on Wood
40 x 60cm
September 2013
Drawn on wood, this piece describes the heavy responsibility my father takes to keep my family safe and sound. Although my father is busy working long hours in Cavite, he protects my mother, my two sisters, and me very well—metaphorically, we are the kitchen utensils possessing family values. As every life of a foreigner is risky, he carries us in a tricycle basket made of dried banana leaves to help us adapt to our new home in Manila after migrating from Seoul.
SPECIAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
SUNG YUN BAE, artist
MARK KUCHARSKI & STEPHANIE DODD, critic
IBH1 & IBH2 VISUAL ARTS, program
International School Manila
International Baccalaureate Diploma Program
Higher Level Visual Arts
August 2012 - May 2014
