Heejin’s Artist Statement

 

In my work I depict women, alone or in environments, using oil paint. As a female painter that depicts women, I relate my work to feminist ideas. Recently I have chosen friends as my models, as well as people I don’t personally know from found images. I like to paint both people I am used to seeing or am close to, but also people who I don’t have any connection to. I think this creates different tensions in my work.

 

Through my art I want to convey artificial beauty through my chosen models. The women in my paintings don’t look human even though they are depictions of real people. They resemble robots or plastic mannequins. I have explored the idea of artificiality through movies and other artists; characters in sci-fi movies are relevant to my current work.

 

I mix oil paint with several different oil mediums of which I make myself. These mediums give a gloss finish to my paintings. I also love to work on linen, which helps with smoothness. The flat backgrounds in my paintings make the women seem like they are in mysterious places, and the pale colours make the women stand out.