BREAKING conformity
This project traces my journey toward emotional honesty as I move between societies shaped by different expectations. Growing up in Korea, I often kept strong emotions to myself, careful to show only what others seemed ready to accept. After moving to the United States, I began questioning how much I had learned to hold back.
Not Like Us
Hermes
Unfolding Identity
In My Younger and More Vulnerable Years
Split Personality
The emotional spectrum
Beneath Still Waters
Color of emotion
The Rupture
I Just Can’t Wait to Be King
Substance
Self-actualization
Luminosity
Emotional Offline
Severance of Identities
Dissect me
Reformation of planes
Tethered
Silent Pain
Hermes
2024
H 24.4 × W 18.5 in
Graphite pencil on paper
Process(es):
Based on my childhood bike.Reassembling a bike, challenging norms by personifying its structure.
The bicycle, assembled from hundreds of parts, was more than just a means of transportation—it represented my childhood. It was a symbol of freedom, exploration, and joy, carrying me through countless adventures. To me, the bicycle was like a childhood friend, always by my side. In this piece, I reassembled the fragments of bicycles into the form of a portrait, reflecting the connection between these memories and my identity, symbolized through the human face.
Unfolding Identity
2024
H 29.7 × W 23.8 in
Acrylic on Canvas
Process(es):
Struggling with bottled emotions,gradually finding ways to express and release them openly.
This painting is a map of my journey in answering the question, "Who am I?" I see myself as a combination of both the tangible—my physical body—and the intangible—my mind and thoughts. Throughout my life, I often reflect on my identity, contemplating what makes me truly myself and the choices that lead to a better version of who I can become. I think about my external appearance as much as I think about my decisions for a better future, constantly trying to understand what I truly desire. In this reflection process, I am steadily finding a clear and regret-free path. To me, this journey is the map of my self-discovery and growth. As I continue to grow, I imagine this map will become more complex and more definitive, guiding me towards a clearer understanding of myself.
The emotional spectrum
2025
H 23.6 × W 19.6 in
Acrylic on Canvas cloth With Adobe Photoshop
Process(es):
A delicate balance, defeat of confusion
and fear. Push away faces, learning how
to be truly me.
My work explores the theme of expressing intangible emotions through visual forms, focusing on the contrast between outward appearance and inner emotional reality.
The piece is painted with layers of different texture and colors and these layers reflect the complexity of emotional suppression—how I often hide my true feelings behind socially acceptable expressions, shaped by the high value placed on conformity in my upbringing in South Korea. In front there is a clear distinct figure standing emotionless and still. Behind lies my more vulnerable state of mind and my swirling emotions that's hidden behind my suppressed self.
The Spectrum is part of my larger investigation into how art allows me to communicate what I struggle to express in everyday life. It captures a moment of tension between the self that conforms and the self that seeks authenticity, inviting the viewer into my internal world where emotions are not hidden but illuminated.
Beneath Still Waters
2025
H 32.2 × W 24.4 in
Oil on Canvas
Process(es):
Suppressed red and blue emotions under calm water. Struggle to reveal self outwardly.
In this piece, I explore the question: How can I visually express the emotions that I suppress in everyday life and explore the contrast between how I appear on the outside and inner emotional reality?
The contrasting versions of myself, one smiling in red and one sad in blue, represent the internal emotional conflict I often suppress under water. The smiling me represents the emotional mask I often wear in public—bright, composed, and socially acceptable. The blue, sorrowful self embodies the emotions I hide beneath that surface. The storm in the background and the water’s reflection symbolize the inner turmoil that remains unseen but deeply felt. Just as the water reflects both figures, I reflect emotions that are not always visible to others.
This piece investigates my emotional expression, shaped by my experience growing up in a conformist culture in South Korea and learning to embrace emotional honesty while studying in the United States. Through this visual language, I begin to peel the layers of social expectation and show the emotional truths that lie beneath.
Emotional Offline
2024
H 19.2 × W 13 in
Acrylic paint collage on paper
Process(es):
Coming to the US and embracing a society that values self-expression and individuality. Blank face.
In My Younger and More Vulnerable Years
2025
H 24 × W 20 in
OHP film, Oil paint, Acrylic on canvas cloth
Process(es):
I fear expressing myself for others might mock me. Still, in process of growth.
Self-actualization
2025
H 25.5 × W 24 in
Acrylic and Oil Pastel on Wood panel
Process(es):
Got more expressive still trapped in Korean words. Neo expressionist urge, but silence frames me.
Luminosity
2024
H 14.9 × W 17.9 in
Acrylic on cotton cloth and 4 pieces of wood
Process(es):
White paint on white canvas reflects
blending in. Mother's family only visible
when backlit.
The Rupture
2025
H 20.8 × W 25.3 in
Acrylic on Canvas cloth With Adobe Photoshop
Process(es):
Unmasking rage, 1 burst free shattering
norms, defying silence, and finally letting it out.
Dissect me
2024
H 28.6 × W 23.8 in
Oil on Canvas
Process(es):
A red background symbolizes danger.
The mask that ostracized people wear to
hide their identity.
I Just Can’t Wait to Be King
2025
H 14.5 × W 20 in
Gouache on paper
Process(es):
Turned 16, fragile yet forced to appear
strong. Others shape you into their ideal.
Tethered
2024
H 21.2 × W 17.7 in
Acrylic on Paper, Adobe Photoshop
Process(es):
Discomfort with conformity that hides
emotion with sameness. Same faces
connected by a thread.
Silent Pain
2024
H 19.8 × W 15.9 in
Acrylic on Canvas With Adobe Photoshop
Process(es):
Covered self expression in a conformist society. Child free from conventions, free to be ourselves.
The painting, titled Silent Pain, was inspired by the increasing racism towards East Asians. In 2022, about six-in-ten Asian adults (63%) say violence against Asian Americans in the U.S. is increasing, while 19% say there has not been much change and 8% say it is decreasing. And yet the Department of Justice estimates that Asians are the victims of over 180,000 violent crimes every year. Recent events have highlighted how East Asians faced violence simply for existing in their own skin and that it is often less evaluated compared to other racial issues. This painting attempts to give voice to the silent struggles met by East Asians living in America.
In Silent Pain, powerful symbolism is used to convey the agony and resilience of the East Asian community. The two emotionless East Asian women represent the limited rights and suppression of being able to “express.” Beneath their pale asian skin, their broken, true emotions are revealed, symbolizing the internal damage caused by continuous racial prejudice. The contrast of texture of the skin to metal represents the psychological hardening they had to go through to resist racism. This reflects how they were required to appear stoic and unaffected on the surface despite their agony. This stiff and firmness facing violence, such as gunshots, illustrates their forced adaptation into being inhuman, emotionless figures to survive. Through this artwork, I aim to raise awareness of the pain East Asians had to go through in a foreign country, emphasizing that their pain should not go unnoticed.
Not Like Us
2025
H 18.9 × W 25.6 in
Graphite pencil on paper
Process(es):
Uniformed same girls face one way. I face another alone. In different direction as different person.