Artist Bio

An idiosyncratic specimen of globalization, I was born in Almaty, Kazakhstan, my father being North Korean and my mother being Russian. Having caught a glimpse of the ex-USSR, I have a nostalgic, conflicting perception of political and cultural systems. The image of Korea evokes for me a tantalizing, fragile and beautifully moving atmosphere. How come? Perhaps, because my father, who was born Pyongyang, writes essays and existential about the Korean diaspora in former CIS countries. Devoid of a homeland, I focus my art on the themes of ethnical atomization, emptiness and nostalgia. Unable to fully assimilate into any one culture, I find myself as an outsider with an eclectic artistic taste. Art represents the act of seeking, assembling and immortalizing beauty. Through my artistic practice, I recreate the state of inspiration and emancipation, experienced during my childhood. My works strive to capture the ephemeral impressions. The concepts, which I explore in my work, include the globalization, surveillance, nostalgia, utopia and eroticism. Recently, I was involved in initiatives with the Royal Watercolor Society, Art Below, Art Wars in London, Red Dot Miami and Los Angeles. This year, I am having shows at 508 Kings Road in London as well as Untitled Space, the New York Art Expo, Theresa Byrnes Gallery and Salon Anise in New York.

Statement

This series of oil paintings, which I am submitting for this contest, was completed at the Château Orquevaux and 18th Street Santa Monica Residencies last year portray the superimposition of my fantastical bunny character into various TV legends, such as Discovery Channel, Gossip Girl  and the notorious MTV. Thus, I’m transcending the limitations of gender, age, and identity through creating an avatar for myself, which can place itself into different narrative scenarios. As explained by esoteric practitioner, Neville Goddard, Imagining creates reality.  These paintings follow this basic law of nature, whereby I am painting what I would like to visualize in my own life. LARP is a practice called live-action role play, where similarly to method acting we can disguise ourselves inside and outside into any character imagined or real, which we would like to inhabit. This practice is deeply therapeutic and beneficial in all ways if done properly and correctly. I have engaged in a virtual relationship with post-internet artist, Ed Fornieles, last year, using this very technique, resulting in a video shown at ICA London and a different series of drawings.