Drive Out

From the Artist: In my recent paintings I am creating a modern take on minwhas. Minhwas are a type of Korean folk art that date back centuries, to the Joseon Dynasty. The word, minhwa, means “painting of the people''. Like many countries, there is a distinct sadness to the history of the Koreas having overcome colonization and war. Many families have the trauma of separation of family members through war and there is a particular silence many families uphold even now, including my own. Often very little is said to follow up after you are told that you have relatives separated from you in North Korea. So little is known about the lost half of lineage. My story is not uncommon for Korean Americans in my cohort. I create this new body of paintings through the lens of having been born here yet maintaining close relationships with my family in South Korea, and raising a child who is half Korean-American. My art is a visual allegory between individuals and location.

During this time of what feels like waiting and wanting, I have found the time to dive deeper into my heritage. Korean folk art seemed mystical and mysterious in my youth. Now, as an adult, I have a different interpretation. Here I find myself exploring a combination of the duality of my being American and Korean. I have for many years focused on creating work, small and large, around the idea of place and architecture. Perhaps this new body is an exploration of place and the historical scaffolding of my heritage. Minhwas have a naive style of figurative imagery, and as I attempt to create my own figures I feel connected to a community of Asians who may view them and in many ways more connected to those who will never see them in North Korea. There is hope that one day, if they are able to view my paintings, the beauty of the minhwa style would be the invisible thread that still ties our families together.