worlds un/fold_v.03

The term kintsugi is a Japanese term to describe a technique in sculpture where shattered pieces of a ceramic piece are put back together using golden lacquer to highlight the cracks and seams. It's both a method and philosophy about the beauty found in imperfection. This piece that hovers above you is an amalgamation of Eastern influences. As a Korean-American artist I wonder how exactly I perceive Eastern culture as someone part of both Eastern and Western cultures. Even though my ethnicity informs me more than the average person in the West, I'm still set apart from someone who grew up in an Asian country. This results in my perception of Eastern influences, such as pop culture, contemporary art, traditional art, history and mythology to be warped and skewed. This is my totem to that odd perception. There's a form of a snake but also that of an Eastern dragon. The horns are jade which are prized in China with the texture inspired by the kintsugi technique and eyes inspired by Japanese anime. The music is also produced by another Korean-American artist inspired by Asian instruments. Together I present a piece that is Asian envisioned by an Asian that doesn't feel genuinely Asian.

The abyss of the ocean is home to many deep-sea creatures that often get compared to extraterrestrial beings, but they are real and live far below the surface. The vampire squid is one example, with its unusual anatomy, bioluminescence, and fins that we don’t usually see in other animals. But even these mysterious creatures are affected by human waste that enters the ocean and harms their environment. It makes me wonder how many of these species will survive in the future, or how many will change so much that they would look alien to us now but might become normal later.

Octopuses are one of the best-known species because they can change their shape and color, and they are highly intelligent. In a world with increasing pollution, I wonder if their skills would help them survive. Maybe they would even transform into something new, shaped by the pollution itself, becoming a creature that is almost corrosive because of the environment it grows in.

A TAPE PLAYER OR AN ABSTRACT OBJECT WITH DECAYING AUDIO SYNCED UP TO THE ANIMATION.

you enter my room filled with beloved belongings, entering a dream. get hit with the feeling of comfort and magical. 

Finding one’s true home is never easy, especially for someone still new to adulthood and learning to stand on their own. In this project, I explored the feeling of being out of place in a home—any home. It could be a parent’s house, a friend’s place, or even one’s own apartment shared with roommates.

This work reflects my personal struggle with the idea of home—a place where I long to feel safe and welcome, yet often don’t. To express this tension, I created a piece depicting a mouth devouring a house, symbolizing the consuming unease that can come with searching for belonging.

Contemplation of illusion and truth reveals that more valuable than all the universes' diamonds are the creatures and creations we love. Fly on angels, here and where.

This project as meant to be an immersive experience where people can view my animated projects and some of my artwork in a movie theater scenery as if it is a portfolio that represents my craft.

They swim in circles, trapped by those more powerful than themselves. They dream of freedom, yet even in their dreams, they swim in circles.

This work explores the feeling of being trapped within systems of power. Caught in invisible currents, we swim and swim. We see the message outside but can’t quite grasp it. We dream of a life not confined by the system but can’t imagine what leaving the spiral is like. And those who leap free of the bowl doom themselves. 

I created this piece using Blender, layering animation, a dream like environment, and text to make the motion and meaning inseparable.

Burnout.burndown.brightburn.goto.hardware.store.buya.hammer.锤.breakdown.collect.buildup.renew.reuse.recycle.realize.intro.spection.wontwork.timefor.violence.willbe.ugly.beauty.willcome.welcome.pitchblack.fornow.