Interview with Jenny Jiyoung Han — Contemporary Art Curator Magazine

‘My artwork has represented a whole new version by juxtaposing all the existing techniques: Abstraction, Surrealism, Fine Art techniques, Design, Illustration, and Photography. This technique is a new way of juxtaposing all different values into one that represents the validity of the existing human mind to show esthetically pleasing colors, textures, and volumes of information sharply and smartly.

My artwork aims to bridge the whimsical abstract objects with cartoon-like imagery into 2D formats representing consolidation in art. Aesthetically immoderate manipulation of the different resources may make you feel uncomfortable or uneasy, but the capabilities of catching your eyes fascinated in the view of your eyes can reconnect and redefine the newness of unknown ideas’.

Artist Statement:
Jenny Jiyoung Han is originally from South Korea, graduated from the London College of Fashion and has gained international recognition through digital painting since Covid hit the world.

She has worked at making an inter-bridge between human minds alongside taking some whimsical abstract or characterized objects with cartoon-like illustrated resources into one 2D digital format. It is like juxtaposing all different values into one that presents the extended reality at a psychological intersection.Typically, her adoration of the sunflower became her lovable symbol of creation.

Every piece of her artwork has been set as a range of sunflower series that explains the personal depiction of human life story. Sunflower itself represents multiple creations that contain the whole validity of recreational meanings beyond what the eyes see in the world. All the floral associations depict sunflowers, but with every aspect of details, consciously and unconsciously using all packages her skills, both for redefining figurative and abstract languages with color theory and expressing inner-self into the particular natural object.

Currently, she is grateful to see the world with possible integration by exploring her ideas and sharing her version of extended reality to show. She wants to invite you to the level of excitement by understanding our subconscious minds to see more happiness in our lives. Her work has quickly drawn. interest from several galleries and social media to get featured worldwide. And her successful art residency program completed at Carrie Able Gallery turned her images into a big and bright future ahead of her art journey.

Growing up in South Korea, what specific experiences or cultural aspects influenced your initial interest in art and fashion, and how have they shaped your artistic journey?

I have experienced human minds having underlying vulnerabilities and significances linking the way of their lives to circumstances. My parents, who have thrived in their sophistication toward professional positions of their roles, enormously affected some level of building my confidence when I was little.

My mum grew up in a posh military background in the 1970s.I struggled with her high standards of behavioral regulations during my upbringing period. She might know that one-parent deployment in a military family comes at a cost that affects a child's emotional development. So, she pushed me harder when she thought time was the key to correcting attitude problems. Her eyes on my daily outfits, daily eatings, and daily routine of my experiences attached to her life affectionately until my early 20s.

On the other hand, my dad was out of interest, and I only remember how he conquered reaching the top land of the profession in South Korea and regaining it when he lost it. At that time, career evaluation was highly affected when the circumstances were out of track in the right frame during the economically sensitive period in the 1990s.

So, I experienced, as likely as my mum's, the period of separation in emotional attachment in many ways from needy standards and ignorance of attention. I remember those days of a hard time pursuing more color aesthetics in shapes and styles to identify myself as beautiful, especially in my daily outfits, which attracted me to study abroad for fashion as a manifesting piece of art without any trends.

I was an emotionally very fragile kid who needed to be loved by the full attention of supporting mental breakdown to the healing process. I have always deepened into my heart to thank my parents for navigating my journey this far to be understood. Because I know for sure one comes between the notion of good one and bad one.

What inspired your transition to digital painting, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic? How has this medium allowed you to express your artistic vision differently from traditional methods?

During the two years of the COVID-19 quarantine in Belgium, where I have lived and worked since 2019, I spent a profound amount of time developing the knowledge built in by my academic years in the UK. Remotely communication was mandatory during that period, spending most of the time in indoor activities: virtual sessions, virtual meetings, digital programming, etc.

Using digital technology or medium was pretty much necessary and easy to build a bridge of shifting information in art form when the delivery was passive. I took advantage of being in the position of quantity time that we couldn't access a range of connection services that we didn't think much of the value of having or take a grant of that comfort zone.

I have been obsessed with blending existing definitions of concepts since I was in the 20s. I tended to explore and absorb new directions of non-discoveries rather than searching for existing information because it seemed that once non-visibility conceptions reveal the concepts of fresh visual language, it means the associations of all the existing knowledge on describing skills and translating into my new analysis. So, I think that is the main reason to love the theory of reaching contemporary art using new mediums rather than traditional ways indicated intriguing to the reader and presenter to show the audiences.

How did your time at the London College of Fashion impact your artistic style? Can you share how your approach to art evolved during your studies there?

It is deepened from the bottom of my heart to show my appreciation for the access to knowledgeable progress in the new environment of cultural differences when I was in the UK.

The learning process was way more interesting than my previous essential educational years in South Korea. Given tasks for the projects were guided by simple instructions within the framework. Leading the mental mapping of education was designed by students, not through the school. That means they adopted rather more possible differentiated directions within the field of study in Fashion.

I used Fashion for a broader category to fit and sit in the flexible marketplace. I always got out of the wearable designs, competing against myself only to reach a possible artistic representation. I have always believed that visualization has been idealized alongside the whole package of self-sophistication, mentally, emotionally and socially.

Your work is notably characterized by the recurring motif of sunflowers. What personal significance does this symbol hold for you, and how do you believe it resonates with your audience?

Sunflowers have powerful languages that resonate energies together with their appearances and color esthetics. I captured what I could take life lessons from sunflowers in some ways. First of all, they make themselves with so many separated single flowers. These are known as 'Disk Floret', which show fascinating togetherness, as likely as how human beings service the world. And they make themselves beautiful, appealing as giant ornaments that serve happiness to the audiences. Their togetherness is a consolation in the form of beauty to others.

That makes me so intrigued to adore them and affects my creative abilities in the position of my life journey. We look for the final destination of individual happiness that resonates with loving people who could strengthen beautifulness for meaningful life endings. I hope to interconnect with everyone's energy within the language of love to understand their life journeys.

You've mentioned creating an 'extended reality at a psychological intersection' through your art. Could you elaborate on what this concept means to you and how you convey it through your work?

Our current social environment has not yet grasped the notion of perfect establishment as much as we have expected fully developed functioning. Reality has always turned out the way itself, not that we planned much or expected. Our self-centred perspective has been a fasting delivery to the mingled images of complexity in twisting existing ideas. We are getting sick and tired of expounding notions between notions, forgetting how to embrace between malfunctioning and functioning in the stages of integration.

The word: 'Love' has been grasped with multiplying questions of how it has to manifest its meaning in understanding mind intersections.
The word: 'Love' has functioned to build a broad range of relationships between tangible and intangible meanings between notions.

Our minds are abstract. Our languages are also abstract. We recognize we hope to transcend the limits between the abstractions at the psychologically intertwining stages of communications to see more tangible or visible toward becoming in the future. That message is conveyed through the heart of the whole procedure to my art.

Can you walk us through your creative process? How do you blend whimsical, abstract elements with more realistic ones to create your unique digital paintings?

I capture every detail of the chosen subject I selected for more realistic languages in the creation. Whimsy in every sense of elements beings shifting more positive or energetic mindset that empowers my soul and heart into the enthusiasm in life. The contents of whimsical elements renders from episodes of my favorites, personal experiences, and fun, or some hopeful futures I have been dreaming of. We may not recognize how the world works in our reality, which is meant to be not easily read or understood.

So, the conflation of all representing the visual information could be an error or a mistake that has not yet occurred in necessary hindering or possibly contributing to the future form. The abstracted interpretation between tangible and intangible possibilities transfers to my unique digital painting of the extended reality behind the scenes.

Color plays a significant role in conveying emotions in art. How do you use color theory to express the 'inner self' in your digital paintings?

I extrapolate the components of my identity into the color theory in my artwork. I don't limit or plan for my colour palette when I paint digitally. I use my emotions time by time, transcending the emotional energy of the specific moments through digital expressions. It is more like an action painting methodology at the very beginning: spontaneously chosen color scheming rather than being carefully applied.

Your work aims to engage viewers at a subconscious level and evoke happiness. What feedback have you received from your audience, and has it influenced your artistic direction?

Most of my audience is attracted to the way of expressing flowers with interesting forms at first, and color range in the form of differentiation than existing color manipulation. They mentioned that it could be possible to define my multi-disciplinary approach between digital medium and symbology familiar to me and my audience. They also indicated the connections of poetical analysis through my aesthetic views on my intensity of emotions. That moment of evoking a feeling of joy and happiness through sharing energies between the art brings out inner sophistication and self-innovation.

How have gallery exhibitions and social media platforms helped in showcasing your art to a wider audience? Do you feel these platforms have changed the way people interact with your art?

I appreciate how much I could get intersecting with my art during the COVID-19 pandemic period on social media. During the lockdown of COVID-19 prohibition had been going on for nearly two years without proper interconnection with social networks, remoting communication with virtual exhibitions, or communities boomed out of extended services. So, I took all the advantages from the frustrating reality and all the good side of the global pandemic. My regular audience has kept in touch with supporting my daily art uploading on my Instagram gallery. I am delighted to be chosen as one of the selected artists from gallery exhibitions in the USA, the UK, and Milan afterwards. That experience could boost my career as a multi-disciplinary contemporary visual artist.

Looking ahead, what are your artistic goals, and are there any new themes or techniques you are eager to explore in your future projects?

I am looking for a long-lasting idea to remain in the future through art. Art has been in the position of being a tool of experimentation. After all, the aim of my creation affirms the role of leadership in togetherness in the survival of each of the battlefields under remixing, repurposing, rerendering, and advocating the existing circumstances.