Life is art and art is life. How do you want to live?
I don’t want to lose my mind about it. Motivation can come from the outside, but it’s important for me to also come from within. The idea of doing something I want doesn’t make me resent anything else. And it keeps me from running away from my problems. Another thing is, I want to keep thinking, feeling, and expressing with the artwork. Prejudice or fear can disturb me. So I try to keep a close eye on my mind and my surroundings.
I want to make artworks of imagination and questions, not of a certain place, but of being on the border.
How do you approach art?
It’s about freedom. Firstly, I follow my interests and curiosity. Among them, I think I tend to focus on things that are not easy to answer. Who am I? What is life? What is art? What makes something human or bound to nature, and what is its relationship? I want to make artworks of imagination and questions, not of certain places.
Where did your thoughtfulness come from?
Thoughtfulness is a special ability that humans have. We have the ability to imagine and explain what is invisible and what is possible in the future. And I think the greater the authenticity of something, the greater the thoughtfulness.
How do you define courage?
I think courage is to rise again without giving up, even if you get hurt in the process of doing what you like. It’s the inner strength that is exerted for what I really want. Courage is a direct face-to-face encounter with fear. To resist the futility of death and confront it with creation. For example, I think creating a piece of work and planting seeds to raise life in a pot are also courageous.
Do you like dancing and singing?
When I’m excited while drawing, I dance and sing along. I think life is rich and beautiful because of it. I listen to many things while working. Music, the words of philosophers, poems, lectures by scholars, etc. Especially, Rock music allows me to make artworks with more energy. Recently, I have also come to like contemporary dancing. At the end of last year, I was deeply moved to see the stage where Andrea K. Schlehwein and Maria Mavridou collaborated in Seoul.
I listen to many things while working. Music, the words of philosophers, poems, lectures by scholars, etc.
ha haengeun seoul artist 
ha haengeun seoul artist 
ha haengeun seoul artist 
ha haengeun seoul artist
53×45.5cm, Acrylic on Canvas, 2020; The Rest, 53×45.5cm, Acrylic on Canvas, 2020, Where did the fairy come from and go, Acrylic on Canvas, 72.7×62.6cm, 2020
How do you spend your day?
I think about art and life and paintings. I also spend my day doing many other things. For example, picking up my children from school and kindergarten. It’s near the studio. I also spend some time in the playground with my kids and I paint at home with them. I write, listen to my favorite music or read a book.
What else are you planning to do this year?
This year’s plan is to keep painting. There are exhibitions and art fairs – in Seoul, Taiwan, and Germany. Another big thing is, I used to make ceramics, and I’m interested in sculpture, so I’ll make them again. The last one is, I want to give a lot of love and attention to my small humans at home and make a small variety of experiences in everyday life.
