10 Questions with Yunah Seo

Al-Tiba9 Art Magazine ISSUE11 | Featured Artist

Yunah Seo (b. 1988, Seoul, South Korea) received her BFA from the painting program of Seoul Women's University (Seoul, South Korea), and gained her MA from the painting program of the Royal College of Art (London, the United Kingdom). Her works have been exhibited and published in the United Kingdom and South Korea.

@yunah.seo

ARTIST STATEMENT

Yunah’s practice considers the internal and attempts to visualise inner reactions relating to personal circumstances, consisting of beliefs, emotions, perceptions, philosophies, and the notion of creation. The artist often interprets her internal reactions and thoughts, as governed by the many intersectional layers and conflicts between structures of our societies and dogmas through ritualistic processes. She combines images and memories from her own life, sorting through them over an extended period of time, and laying them out across her materials in order to consider and develop intuitive insight. Yunah attempts to reveal the true meaning of her emotional responses and her subconscious. She reveals glimpses of the interplay and the affect-effect, something that exists both in the world and in artworks and that she brings to her audience, in order to challenge them to scrutinize their inner world.

The light upon us series 03, Acrylic on translucent paper, 99.8x119.6 cm, 2022 © Yunah Seo

INTERVIEW

First of all, let's introduce yourself to our readers. Who is Yunah Seo, and how would you describe yourself in three words?

I am from South Korea. I have stayed in multiple countries, such as the USA, the UK, China, and I would like to explore even more diverse cultural backgrounds. A grey area wanderer.

What is your artistic background, and how did you become the artist you are today?

I grew up in an artistic family, my father and an elder sister were painters, and she has become a flower designer recently. My mother is an interior designer. This background has enabled me to paint and experience art as breathing. Since I was very young, I have had a strong belief that I would be an artist. It was a default idea from the beginning. When I was a teenager, I considered trying other relevant industries such as movie making or fashion design. However, I decided to focus on fine art eventually. Also, my family supported my work a lot, especially my father was a huge fan of my artworks, and he always encouraged me to persist in making art. Even though he passed away from cancer in 2011, his trust in my work still motivates me to keep doing it, and this became my legacy.

You studied both in Seoul and London. How did these two cities influence your work and your career as an artist?

Seoul is my hometown, and my education here lets me explore diverse mediums. I studied at Seoul Women's University, where the painting course was like a contemporary art practice course at that time. Now I have heard that they changed the course name to 'Contemporary Art'.
There I practiced experimental movies, installation works, and ways of using diverse mediums to visualize an idea. Studying in Seoul was an incubator while studying in London was a place of development for me. The London experience expanded my boundaries and made me consider fundamental questions. I mainly focused on painting in London, which has considerably influenced my perspective on art. In my personal opinion, there are differences in art perspectives between cultures, geography, and so on. It was a pleasure to experience varied views of art from two different cities.

On the day of reckoning, Acrylic on translucent paper, 109x146 cm, 2020 © Yunah Seo

Awakening the sleeping tiger, Acrylic on translucent paper, 83.5x119 cm, 2019 © Yunah Seo

Let's talk about your work. You mostly work with painting; how did you choose this medium? And what does it represent for you?

Two of my family members were painters. Therefore, painting was the most familiar medium for me. Drawing was always my core skill and amused me. I still use other mediums as well, however, I felt it was necessary to develop my painting, so I currently focus on it. They are like each slice of the skin of the world I experience, observe, and reveal.
In addition, I move around from country to country, so it was a hard decision to demolish my sculptures or installation works due to space and handling issues. In contrast, paintings, although still taking up a lot of space, are a bit easier to preserve, so I prefer painting for practical reasons. However, I now think that once I have made a clear blueprint of my sculpture works, I could recreate them over and again if the same materials could be provided. I would like to keep my old works, whether they are mature or not, because time, emotion, and the way of thinking at that moment can never be rewound. I lost many old works from an early stage, which is a big shame.

Do you have any other medium or project you would like to experiment with?

Of course. Looking back at my previous works, you can find diverse mediums. Although I mainly focus on painting now, I am always open-minded to trying new mediums. I might work on some sculptures combining them with my paintings, which can fill up the space with different textures. I like to play with colour and light, so I am currently interested in mediums that can effectively reflect those elements, such as glass, metal, luminous objects, or aluminum foil. I do not want to preempt my next project.

Kairos, Acrylic on translucent paper, 100x120 cm, 2021 © Yunah Seo

Your painting seems to have a rather cathartic meaning, and they represent and analyze your life experiences and encounters. What messages do you want to convey?

These paintings demonstrate different stories individually; however, they flow together in a larger wave: you might be able to distinguish them from a distance. It might be just a few aspects of myself rather than bearing a specific message. I am a tool for reflecting on the existence of intuitive smoke. It is one human being's poetic reaction to one's life and time, but also it can be sympathized with by many others in common.
In fact, I have more words in my thought, but I tried to simplify them in my works as much as possible. Some things pass through the net for a while, and they are a handful of leftovers. They are vessels of mixed emotions or phenomena instead of figures that try to explain something. Those works are vessels of myself, and this individual's life is a vessel of the present, and this present is a vessel of humanity.
Also, I have some keywords in my mind that change both internally or according to the situation of the world, and 'Hope' especially is this year's topic.

Tumult, Acrylic on translucent paper, 55x56.5 cm, 2020 © Yunah Seo

Harmony, Acrylic on translucent paper, 128.5x148 cm, 2019 © Yunah Seo
“Different emotions come into play when clown-like tumorous characters, for instance, representing pain and joy as contrasting feelings, dance together in a larger narrative. Their ritual self-acts shift to a ceremonial harmony, a process that is ridiculous and ongoing. I was concerned about how people with beliefs would interpret the same theology in different ways. While our personal prejudices are intertwined with our own life experiences, I still hope that all of us will choose the right way in the end: however, we will never really know. Despite this conflict within us, we still strive to live harmoniously.”

How did you evolve this way of working? And what influenced you to follow this path?

I still cannot define it exactly, because I believe it is at an early stage and there is a long way to go. I am just pacing myself in the middle of a journey.
My childhood may have had an influence to a certain degree. I used to make daily drawing diaries or letters for my parents, so drawing was one of the essential kinds of communication which said something I could not explain verbally or by other methods. When I experienced a strongly bonded empathy from my recipients, the joy that I felt then came over to me now. I attempted to capture intuitive existence through the unseen in our real life.

What do you think of the art community and market? As Seoul is gaining a lot of exposure as a hub for contemporary art, do you find it to be a good market for emerging artists?

Yes, Seoul is a fabulous, energetic city! The number of young and amateur collectors is rapidly growing on the art scene. The Frieze Art Fair is coming to Seoul this year, 2022, which is a sign that Seoul is an important art market. However, there are still many things that need to be developed, in my opinion, but there is a high potential.

The storm brings light, Acrylic on translucent paper, 176x226 cm, 2020 © Yunah Seo
“When people are self-centered on their own ends, they barely know what they are doing. I am guilty of this as well. The tumorous figures in my new painting reflect twisted, confused, and wounded soul distortions—to be a monster yet not enough to be a human, in the middle of these two states—with bright light falling down softly and embracing them in the dark. Likewise, the dark clouds bring a downpour that regenerates life and cleanses things—perhaps sinfulness—until the light shows its face. The blessing is hidden in the hardship. It is sealed from those who refuse it but revealed to those who seek it.”

How do you promote your work at large? Do you participate in online exhibitions, or are you represented by any gallery?

I participate in online exhibitions if there are good opportunities, but I have not been represented by any galleries yet. Honestly, I tend to focus on my own work most of the time, but I believe self-promotion can also be very important.

And lastly, what are your plans for the near future? Do you have any exhibitions or collaborations that you want to share with our readers?

If anyone is interested in my next steps, you can follow me on my Instagram. I only upload works and relevant news. You can find my news there. Stay tuned!

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