A city is the subject matter and the very place I proceed with my art.

As a diaspora citizen who was born in a city, having lived in a city and destined to live in a city, my subject matter ranges from objects and sceneries ‘found’ in the urban society to personal memories accumulated within. I believe the gaze I cast upon the city is formalized through these diverse mediums and expands with those relocated back to the city.

I collect waste objects from daily lives, left on the streets. The residue being left or trashed is then disassembled, losing its original forms and functions. I reassemble these particles, into new objects coated with my pen drawings and the waste paper. The repetitive pen drawing is the visual form of the impression I got from the city. Unlike the various thickness of a pencil and infinite colors of painting pigments, the monochromatic and consistent thickness of the ink pen fills the surface in an even manner particular to this medium. Yet this monotony is disturbed with the vivid colors of loosely-shredded packaging paper, on which alluring images are printed to highlight their merchandise which represents the color of cities I try to express. The finished output of refined pen drawings and solid pieces arranged in installations are my personal response to the virtual space.

Fragmented thoughts about life in the city are also the key subject matter in my work. The conflicts and questions that arose from different societies I belonged to and the relationship I had with others tend not to evanesce and rather serve as a catalyst to question what has aroused as daily struggles of the capitalist society and form a critical stance towards the shadow of contemporary society. This leads me to reflect on my daily routines within the city and convert what felt unfamiliar or uncomfortable into the subject matter of my art practice. I collect, edit and construct a new narrative with these ‘uncomfortable residues’. The new narrative is then presented through a series of performance or short clips implementing what I have observed in the city life.

Although each work bears different form, at the core of my works sits an individual both isolating oneself and been isolated by one’s surroundings due to the fierce competition in the contemporary society. The act of drawing repeatedly is for the feeling of achievement with which I suspend chronic anxiety temporarily. By collecting what has been left out of its usage, I embrace what has fallen behind the competition; be that objects, sentiments, or individuals. I release the agitation from the daily routine in the city by the format of art.

I aim to confirm this endeavor of creating visual records on my thoughts and impression of the city as a living space, going beyond the activity of merely exposing conflicts of an individual. This starts from the belief that the process of translating personal memories and experiences into visual narrative could take part in defining contemporary society, with its various interpretations opening up for diversity and mobility in the city.

E-mail

joonhong1984@gmail.com

Studio

ASC Studios Brixton

246 Stockwell Rd, London SW9 9SP