When did you first become interested in art and photography? I first became interested in art when I was pretty young, maybe four or five years old. We didn’t have a lot of art supplies at home- I didn’t grow up in a financially stable place, so drawing was my way to be creative. All you need is paper and a pencil, so that’s how I started. With photography, I remember always being really obsessed with the coming-of-age genre and aesthetic in the early 2000s. I think my interest in photography derived from wanting to know more about my family history. We kept family photo albums buried in some type of hallway
cabinet and that was one of the few ways I learned about my ancestry and something that I was culturally a part of. I remember coming across so many beautiful color palettes and wanting to mimic that and the feeling of the past. It wasn’t until I graduated from high school that I started working with film photography. So far I’ve only worked with 35mm, polaroids, and digital photography.
You’re capturing such nostalgic objects while photography is simultaneously such a nostalgic media, since it’s all about capturing and preserving the past. I really love the scale and vibrancy of your photographs because they feel really intimate and also really playful. These small objects are also loaded with such a sense of personal history, too. What drew you to photograph these particular items? I really wanted to focus on objects that created nostalgia. As a kid, I didn’t have a lot of belongings and I grew up with a lot of brothers so I never really had toys of my own. Growing up, I would just get little trinkets from the schoolbook stores and save them. I think the specific materials and visual elements encapsulate my childhood. I was heavily invested in the crafting scene in middle school, when I started making porcelain clay charms, and I think that obsession has always stayed with me. Crafting and working with my hands- doing a lot of detail-intensive work- was how I had fun in middle school. I made paper stars with my Korean friends and made dangling phone charms and things like that.
I also love the objects and collage elements you chose because I felt like they’re so ubiquitous in Asian American childhoods- going to J-town and K-town and collecting all these little trinkets and crafting stationary. It brought up memories for me of not only the act of creating and crafting, but also the experience of going on trips to these specific Asian American neighborhoods and malls. You’re so right- going to the craft store is such an adventure in itself, I remember my friends and I would get super excited about that. We’d always jaywalk across the street just to get there sooner. The objects really draw you in, too. Seeing something so small and cute and detailed- it’s something you can pay attention to really easily. When you’re a kid, everything around you is a lot bigger and so much of your surroundings can be ugly, and these miniature objects are something you can connect to and identify with. I remember I used to get super obsessed with making sticker books from morning glory and collecting these pencils from the small stationery store in H Mart and Asian Garden Mall.
You mentioned in your artist statement that this collection of photographs is dedicated to an older sister figure. Could you talk a little more about that inspiration? I really felt a connection with Jimini when I was growing up. She was present in my life for a couple years because my oldest brother was dating her, and because I grew up with so many brothers, it didn’t feel like I had any connection to my femininity. She was kind of the gateway to that. I have such sweet memories of her because she was so kind and bubbly. Having a figure in my life who I finally felt connected to, after feeling really isolated in a family of people who didn’t really understand my experiences and perspective, was really important to me.
She sounds like such an empathetic person. My older sister’s friends would never want to hang out with me! It’s always really special when someone takes that extra time and attention to connect with you. That’s so true! My brother’s other friends weren’t like her. I felt important and seen when we spent time together as well. Sometimes, we’d visit her mom’s salon and I’d get my hair dyed, too. It was always so good seeing her.
What is your usual photographic style or focus? My photographic focus has definitely changed since I first started. I don’t photograph a lot of small objects- this is definitely different for me, it’s such an objective perspective. I mainly do portrait photography now and I really like themes of family, and capturing candid moments. I think my photographic style is really simple and clean. I try to avoid busy scenery and some of my inspiration comes from Japanese street photographers, fine art photographers, and fashion photographers like Issei Suda, Ren Hang, Petra Collins, and Cho Gi Seok. I want to explore and experiment with everything in photography.
Can you talk a bit about the technique and composition of these photographs? I was using an 18-100 millimeter zoom lens. I used this white backdrop to create a pristine void, definitely a very Korean-influenced aesthetic. A lot of Korean art that I like is really playful but balanced with something minimal. I feel like these objects bring me so much joy but it’s common for us to overlook them. To photograph them brings more attention to them and asserts their presence.
How has studying at UC Irvine shifted your artistic practice? I’m currently working on a pitch deck for my next film, and I’m learning to retouch photos at the moment. I think before, when I was making art, I was thinking conceptually but I wasn’t thinking about the cultural inspiration I could pull from. I never really focused on my heritage and how to make something that’s a part of me. I think about that more consciously now. I think more about my own narrative rather than what people expect from me. Being around so many talented artists at UCI makes me want to do more research in my art, too. When I was creating a collage for this series, I remember I was taking a class on sculpture and we were learning about assemblage. I got inspired by other assemblage sculptors who forge artworks out of materials that they own or are easily accessible. I was really inspired by the Los Angeles assemblage movement because I resonated with that idea of making do with what you have. When you collage, you’re bringing in items that remind you of a certain age or moment. When I look at that collage journal, seeing all those colors and materials bring me back to my childhood.
Yes, the way we relate to objects is really highlighted with collage. Totally! When I collage, sometimes it’s so scary to put something down and say “I’m done.” Since these objects are all from my childhood and have all these memories associated with them.
Are there any art or pop culture, subculture movements that particularly influence you? A lot of Asian subcultures influenced me. There’s this magazine called Fruits Magazine that has a heavy focus on early-2000s Harajuku and Lolita street fashion. I’m also really influenced by the Korean fashion designer Hyein Seo who creates these playful constructions that look so simple and layered, but never get boring. I’ve been in this phase where I want to recreate the early 2000s cyber girl look with influences coming from films like Fallen Angels and Memento Mori.
What’s next for you in art? This art show really gave me the opportunity to explore nostalgia as a theme. I think I want to work in sculpture more… I’ve had this idea of recreating these bedazzled phones from the 2000s. I really want to do a photo project with that, and capture the nostalgia I have for the 2000s! I also really want to go to a design school in the future and create art for galleries.
How do film and photography influence each other in your practice? I feel like a lot of film is about design and photography is in the same realm as that. Photography can provide really great training for filmmaking, and vice-versa. Framing and composition, and finding your own personal view on how you literally see things- frame ratios, naturalistic versus formal, there’s so much room for experimentation and finding your style. I used to be a Film and Media studies major, and now I’m doing Digital film. I took one class in FMS called Black Radical Film Theory and Filmmaking, and it opened my eyes to how important representation in media is and how much it can impact the audience in its circulation. Studying FMS helped me to become more well-rounded in understanding different perspectives, and the role that film and images play in cultural systems. Especially during the pandemic when we’re all so attached to screens, I think it’s so important to have a background in what it means to be represented by on-screen bodies and to continue being critical of the narratives that media produces.