moonassi

Daehyun Kim, aka moonassi was born in 1980, has studied traditional Korean painting at the College of Fine Arts, Hong-Ik University and lives and works in Seoul, Korea. He is working at "Lomography Korea" as a designer and likes to write poems, as well. I have been instantly mesmerized by his illustration artwork, I somehow feel they are simple, yet elegant, extremely clever and also relevant to myself. I am sharing a couple of them below, although I strongly advise you to visit his website for more:

Moonassi's black and white illustrations usually depict two identical characters engaged in what at first glance appear to be strange interactions. Some times one of the two characters is layered, broken into pieces or has tiny replicas of himself emerging from his body. It really takes a closer look at all the ingenious details to be able to understand the relationship between the characters and decide on its significance.

"I'm anyone or anything anywhere", says moonassi and by this he points out at the universal character of his theme. The artist's statement also underlines the anonymity of the individuals in his illustrations, which potentially mirror the viewer's own thoughts and emotions.

I am not sure whether this was the intention of the artist, but to me, moonassi's consistently identical figures represent an individual and his alter egoes. I think one of the major themes in his work is the duality (and multi-layer-character) of a person's self-concept.

dust kid

It's saturday morning, it's cartoon morning!

Today I want to share a Korean animation by Yumi Jung: "Munjiai" aka "Dust Kid" (2009). It tells the story of a young woman who wakes up in the middle of the night and starts tidying up her apartment. In this small nocturnal universe, her only co-inhabitants are small versions of herself that she finds hidden in every dusty corner of her room, always naked, sad, maybe frightened, ashamed. These dust kids, appear consistently and suddenly and are in some way reminders of her own true self, that she tries so hard to hide in the comfort and predictability of routine. But are not welcome, they are uncomfortable intruders and the young woman tries to crush them, flush them away, drown them, throw them away.

Highlights of this animation are the incredibly minimalistic pencil drawings, the wonderful use of sounds (the slippers, the moving of objects on the table, the buzzing of the fridge), that enhance the feeling of loneliness and the fact that it opens up for reflection.

Tokyo International Anime Fair 2010 [2]
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via Ma Kuangpei on Facebook

Note: A kind commenter has pointed out that the animation actually says Seoul International Animation Festival not Tokyo International Anime Fair, as suggested by the video description. I don't speak either Japanese or Korean, so I can't verify that. I do know however that the animation was present at the Tokyo International Anime Fair 2010, as well as a number of other international festivals. I also realize that at the beginning of the video it says that it is supported by the Seoul Animation Center /Seoul Business Agency. If anyone can clarify this, please leave a comment.

time of the gypsies

La Via Show is a wonderful Korean project, which documents young musicians and their performances. I love the idea behind the project: like a street diary, using great art direction and wonderful concepts for the filming in unusual settings (street, public toilets, restaurants, offices etc.). Here is "Beautiful Days - Time of the Gypsies":

korean office

La Via Show is a wonderful Korean project on documenting young creatives and their music. Here's a taster: great concept, amazing cinematography and surprisingly good music (by nunco). That's my kind of office!

invisible people

A recent post on Alice in my head introduced a wonderful Korean artist to me: Jin Young Yu. Her work is so mesmerizing and I just cannot help wanting to own one of her transparent sculptures (clay and PVC). Both expressionless and expressive at the same time, the mask-like faces (masks seem to be a major motif, as they appear as accessoires, as well) symbolize a character, a persona, behind which true identity and emotion hides. Like a three-dimensional examination of hypocrisy, domestic secrets, and the ongoing battle between a private versus public self.

"It was too simple to define them as “the alienated people” or “the depressed people”. Instead, I thought that I, or we, could easily be one of them. My works are about people who, instead of getting along with others, choose to keep a distance from them, and be invisible or be left alone unconcerned. Instead of trying to fit into the world, they climb into a space of their own and reject other people’s intrusions (read the rest of the interview here)."

"My figures express the loneliness of people living today. The transparent body means a perfect shield that makes it possible to hide itself anywhere, while the crying face represents a warning: ‘Don’t come towards me!’ I intend to remind viewers of the loneliness of people in this modern society, where there is little of true communication." And as for an overall theme? "I want to get away from the plastic smiles and fake facial expressions," she says. Thus is the essence of Jin Young’s stoic army.

For more see Union or the artist's blog. Read an interview with the artist on Arrested Motion.