Eunkang Koh

In my artwork, I draw from the human circumstances that flourish between reality and perception. Born and raised in the Korean myth culture and adopting Buddhist philosophy, I assume that the world we are living in is not real but is an illusion that we perceive. I doubt that there is anything like truth in a concrete sense. I aim to create my own illusion in my art. My images are my way of seeing the world without pretense.

Inspired by animals in the Sierra Nevada mountains and forests, my imagination flourishes images of human and animal mixed creatures, which will act somewhat like their own animal species but has somewhat human elements simultaneously. The mixture of animals and human are merged into hybrid creatures and the distinction between the species has become blurred and not easy to be distinguished. They are closely allied with the human life world and live among us but yet coexist as living beings rather than as conquered, controlled, and owned objects. These creatures and the society they live in is a world where social communication, mannerism and life activities reside in their own terms. They portray ironic gestures that create a mixture of humor and grotesqueness, reflecting life in our society.

My work has an element and sprit of Min-Hwa which is an old traditional Korean art created by the working-class people in the 16th to early 20th century. In Min-Hwa, humanized animal and human characters are described as whimsical & humorous, yet critical and satirical of society. I bring the spirit of Min-Hwa into a contemporary version with my own perspective, as an artist living in Reno, Nevada. My work shows a diaspora of Korean identity that is altered and modified while I am looking at the environment of the Sierra Nevada through the lenses of Korean identity.

To express my philosophy, I use various types of printmaking such as relief, intaglio, screen printing, as well as digital process, and new technology like laser cutter and 3D printer and combine them with sewing, ceramics, installation, etc.