10 Questions with Koo J

Koo J is a South Korean artist, currently based in Seoul, South Korea. She graduated from the Department of Visual Design, Hanyang Women's University. She has worked and exhibited internationally, and her work have been published on international magazines.

@kooj_insta

ARTIST STATEMENT

I'm working on photography with a warm color film camera. The loneliness and anxiety of everyday life in the crushed image, while recalling the feeling of excitement, also express various emotions, such as moments of the past and fears and expectations for the future.

While working on my painting, my hope is to get through it, as it'll be fine, so I have the strength to move forward. The painting, which embraces the energy of hope, layer by layer, is buried on the canvas as the heart leads. Those who look at the picture, receive good energy, and I hope you have a little bit of comfort and dreams and strength to move forward.

INTERVIEW

Please, introduce yourself to our public. Who's Koo J, and how would you describe yourself as a person and an artist?

My name is Koo J. I was born in Seoul, Korea, and I work in photography and painting.
My personality is sensitive and emotional, and I am inspired by everything I see, hear, and feel to express myself through photos and drawings. With a variety of beautiful colors that I can uniquely express, sometimes improvised, sometimes intuitive, I give meaning to my ordinary everyday life.

When did you first realize you wanted to be an artist?

I majored in visual design in college, and while enrolling photography course, a required subject, I was fascinated by the art of taking photos and those photos taken by artists.
After I started working at a job, I went to school after work in trying to finish my studies with a photography major, but the class did not meet my expectations, and I quit because I thought it was a waste of time and energy. Instead, I worked on photography in my spare time while working.
Whenever I had vacations from work, I went to nearby Japan to work on photography in all my spare time.
However, at some point, I felt that I could not concentrate on taking pictures and a sense of urgency hindered me from work as I was pressed for time. When I saw an unsatisfactory result, I was disappointed with myself.
As the photos I worked on in Japan were featured in several independent magazines, I was able to get one step closer to my dream of pursuing art. At the same time, I wanted to have time to focus on photography, so I boldly left the job I had worked for 10 years, then went on a 5 to 6 month trip to England, France, Italy, and Austria.
Of course, it was not easy to leave the security of the company life, and I was often hesitant. But the moment I decided to leave the company was the first step I took on the path of becoming an artist. This beginning was a turning point in my life, and then I was encouraged by my photography work, which was published in several British magazines.

What is your artistic background? And how did you develop into the artist you are today?

Art galleries and museums are the places I always visit while traveling abroad.
Even if it was a very short trip, it was definitely worth visiting those places despite following tight schedules within a short time span. I was so amazed and excited that I could see the works of famous artists in a small art museum that is not easily available in Korea.
Also, there was a large bookstore in the company building of my previous job. And whenever I had free time or short breaks, I went to the bookstore and read art-related books such as photo books, fashion books, and art books. Because the scope of my job in the company was completely different from the artistic side, in order to not let myself fall behind, I tried to develop artistic sensibility by looking at art-related books with various colors.
After the backpacking trip in Europe, I took a break and worked as a gallery curator for 2-3 years. The gallery was located where all the other galleries are concentrated. During the break, I often paid close attention to which artists and how other galleries were exhibiting. While working at the gallery, from looking at the exhibitions of other artists, I naturally decided that I also wanted to paint. Then I quit the gallery job and started painting in earnest.

You work with both painting and photography. How do you approach these two different mediums?

The photos and drawings I work on are about capturing the moment.
Just like capturing the moment when I am taking a photo, my paintings also capture the moments of experiences, emotions, and environmental factors in my daily life, and are expressed in drawings.
The innumerable emotions I am experiencing - excitement, pleasure, happiness, regret, fear, joy, anxiety, the past, present, dreams and worries about the future, anger, gratitude, and ecstasy - All myriad inner emotions are expressed through photographs or drawings rather than words.
If my photographs are the result of the emotions I receive in an unfamiliar environment, place, and space, then my paintings are about my sensitive and meticulous emotions caused throughout my daily life in this small city where I live.

Talking about photography, you work with a film camera. Why did you choose analog photography?

When I take pictures, sometimes I work with a digital camera as well. But the warm sensibility and soft colors from the film camera provided me with a sense of security, so I continued to work with the film camera.
When working with film, it is impossible to check the result immediately, and it can only be checked after developing the film - That's the beauty of a film camera, so I'm more attached to it.
When I press the shutter, I take pictures with all my heart and excellent care. And the joy I received from checking the results of my work and finding an unexpectedly good picture made me stick to the film camera.

Do you find any difference in your creative process when you work with a photographic series as opposed to your painting series?

During the film camera photography process, the anticipation of the result is very exciting. After scanning the film, when I look at the results and examine them carefully, I recall countless emotions as I think of the passing emotions I felt moment by moment at that time.
On the other hand, since painting expresses the emotions I am currently experiencing through various colors - the difference is that I can directly face myself and check the results through the colors that contain my own emotions.
If working with a film camera is about realizing a sense of stability that can be comforted by warm colors, the colors on the canvas are more vivid and filled with invigorating energy in them.

Speaking of painting, you primarily work with abstraction. Why did you choose this expression? Can you talk about your process of creation?

The gallery where I worked as a curator was a place where a lot of calligraphy exhibitions were held.
Every time I looked at abstract calligraphy, those freely expressed dots and lines that permeated from the brush gathered and fascinated me with unstoppable and powerful energy.
I wanted to express the free lines that only I can express with the combination of lines that look messy and the deep, resonant energy of abstraction.

On a general level, what would you like to communicate to the viewers with your work?

For the photography, I want to provide viewers a chance to face themselves with the passage of time in a crushed image and time to fully focus on themselves through deeper reminiscences.
Through paintings, I want to give viewers the courage to dream and hope to move forward with the power lines and various colors emanating from the canvas.

Is there anything else you would like to experiment with?

As the period of pandemic extends, there are increasingly more plastics are produced for food delivery and packaging. Plastic bags and plastic items seem to never disappear, even after being thrown away. What's more, some masks have a plastic hook that can fix the mask when you open it, but since it is not being used, there is a countless number of them left inside the plastic bottle where it's kept.
Among those, some are recycled, but more are uncontrollably left over, and I am overwhelmed by such many plastic items. I often wonder what it would be like to produce a work of art using used and discarded plastics.
I want to pursue artistic value by combining a lot of plastics used in a month, rhythmically by size and color, then fixing it on the canvas to combine it with my abstract painting.

And lastly, what are you working on now? Do you have any new series or exhibitions coming up?

I am currently working to share my work with as many people. Through Tounou and other affiliated companies, photos, paintings, and various commercialized art products are being sold and exhibited.
In addition, sponsorship of TV drama was conducted so the work could be promoted to many people in the forms such as poster frames, mug cups, and cushions.
Recently I also have been trying to promote my work abroad in various ways. There was a plan to exhibit artists overseas, so I applied for a public contest. Whether this will lead to good results has not yet been decided. I will continue to challenge myself today, tomorrow, and on.

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