Journal writing became a familiar and necessary practice for me growing up. I wrote in journals to unload the weight of mental and emotional burdens and to celebrate in moments of gratitude and joy. I learned to converse with myself, putting the intangible and fleeting into concrete and approachable words, which significantly validated the various facets of my own subjectivity.
Journaling for me has taken on a new form. My drawings have evolved into a culmination of expressive handwriting free from the conventional left-to-right, top-to-bottom orientation. It is no longer restricted by the constructs of a defined language, and is instead non-sequential and layered.
The content of these new drawings deals with tension and conflict surrounding my identity as a fourth generation Korean-American woman from Hawaii living in the American South. Issues of independence, responsibility, racism, sexuality, spirituality, and morality were in a constant state of conflict due to contradicting cultural norms. Individuality conflicts with cultural expectations of submission and sacrifice.
The gestural brushstrokes boldly evoke Asian calligraphic references in the same way that one is immediately confronted by my ethnicity. The process of creating these drawings mimics the way my identity is broken down into visible categories based on first impressions, and to experience my drawings or me accurately one must engage in conversation. Both the initial marks made with black ink and my ethnic identity are permanent—as soon as the mark is made, and as soon as I am born, all that is left to do is accept it and grow with persistence and intentionality toward a reconciled and complete self.
The framework established by the gestural marks provides a base for subsequent additive marks that symbolize the act of reconciling the past—filled with uncontrollable circumstances, lost relationships, and buried memories—with the active present and the more hopeful future.
Pursuing a graduate degree in painting and drawing will allow me to further investigate hybrid cultural identities within a globalized society. Although the content of my work stems from personal experience, the issues it addresses are relevant to immigrants all over the world as well as many biracial individuals. I intend on refining a global visual language that confronts cultural boundaries to inspire accessible dialogue among unique yet displaced individuals, and to invite others to participate.
This is about 3x4'. It's the first of my third set of three (3-1), and most people's favorite.
Details of the first drawing.
This is the second of the series (3-2), with more opaque ink.
Detail of the second drawing.
This was used with only a corner of my brush, with less ink.
Third of the third set of three (3-3).
Details of the third drawing.
First of the fourth set of three (4-1).
Detail of first.
Second of the fourth set of three (4-2).
