Interview with Jeewoo Park

Meet NUNUM's Summer 2020 Contributor: Jeewoo Park

7/24/2020

NUNUM

Blending Flash Fiction & Art

Interview with Jeewoo Park

Jeewoo Park added a flavour

to NUNUM's Summer 2020 issue by bringing us all along on her surreal night out.

Jeewoo's currently a senior at North London Collegiate School Jeju in South Korea. She calls herself an aspiring artist who has been honing her skills in art for the past several years, but we say you've already arrived Jeewoo.

With her great interest in art, Jeewoo attempts to produce work in traditional art as well as digital painting. She is developing her artistic skills further for her future path in the visual arts and we can't wait to see where that brings her. Jeewoo was kind enough to give us a bit of her time recently and you just know what we asked her first.

Jeewoo Park

Jeewoo, what's the first book you remember reading all by yourself?

Untitled by Jeewoo Park

I remember reading a Korean Book, ‘Exhibition in the Room '방구석 미술관’ by Wonjae Cho. Since I like art, I enjoy reading books related to art. I read a lot of books related to art before, but it was very difficult for me. There were a lot of art related books that drew my attention, but none of them were easy to read. However, ‘Exhibition in the Room '방구석 미술관' was the book that helped me to understand art easily and comfortably.

Once we are done here, I will start looking for a translated version. Thank you for that Jeewoo, but lets get more current, what's the last book you read that made you think 'Damn, that was good'?

‘A Mix-Up in Heaven’ by Guillaume Musso.

When I first read it, I could not resist turning to the next page, because of the inspiring stories and fresh topic of the book. In the book, an unlinked story suddenly comes out in the middle, and in the end I could find out that all of the events were actually connected. One of the most astonishing books I have ever read.

Well, there is one more for the reading list. So now you know why I love these questions. What about on holidays, who are your go-to writers when you need something to read?

Untitled by Jeewoo Park

Raina Telgemeier, simple stories and characters always appeal to me

Untitled by Jeewoo Park

It has been quite a long time since I went on holiday, but I remember, when I was young, I always took the comic books of Raina Telgemeier. I especially enjoyed ‘Smile’ and ‘Sisters’, and they are my items of memory. About six years ago, I was in Canada, and my friend recommended me Telgemeier's comics to me. The simple and cute stories and characters really appealed to me, and I would read those books repeatedly. At that time, when I went on holiday, I could feel that reading those comics made boring flights or long drives more enjoyable.

Unfortunately, it might be awhile before anyone gets to travel easily.

But no need for that talk here, what about contemporary artists Jeewoo, who gets your admiration?

Among a number of contemporary artists, I admire David Hockney the most. I enjoy using neutral colours when I create art, but I am always inspired by Hockney’s use of vivid colours.

Pen, pencil or phone which one do you reach for when you need to write something down?

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Whenever I need to write something down, I reach for my phone.

Summer 2020 cover by Jeewoo Park

Whenever I think of an idea, it stays on my mind very shortly. In order to capture the idea, I must be very quick, and the phone is the best tool for that. If needed, I can also use the camera on the phone to note something visual.

I am sitting here nodding my head, the quick picture, no way I can write it down faster than that. But back to art, is there an artist in your local community that you would recommend people check out?

I would recommend Mr. Sein. He was my art teacher in Year 9.

I would recommend Mr. Sein. He was my art teacher who taught me when I was in Year 9. That was about three years ago, and our relationship as a teacher and a student is still alive. He is a Dutchman, but he came to Jeju to teach. He is especially skilled in watercolours. His use of natural and live colours distinctively convey the mood of the scene in the paintings.

Mine was Miss Whalen, Year 11, and I am so happy you said that. Those mentors that come into our lives when we are in need of direction are so very special and they deserve to know how important they are in our lives.

Jeewoo Park

What about your current artistic direction Jeewoo, who has influenced you?

I think movies have had a great influence on my current artistic direction. Movies from Disney and Marvel, which are quite popular. I am inspired by how their artistic and digital skills develop over such a short period of time. I initially enjoyed working on traditional arts the most, but whenever I watched those movies, my opinion kept being reshaped. However, I always think that I should take an adventure by watching other movies or animations whether they are famous or not.

Pet Age Gap: Restaurant by Jeewoo Park

The portrait of two dogs and myself is titled ‘Pet Age Gap: Restaurant’. The work is inspired by Matthew Grabelsky’s surreal portraits of people who are seemingly normal from under the neck but have their heads replaced by animal heads. The work intended to present the relationship between dogs and humans. According to the professional veterinarians, the dogs and humans have a different ratio of counting the age. The first year of a dog’s age is 15 years of a human’s age. Then, the second year of a dog’s age is equivalent to 24 years of a human’s age. The schnauzer in the painting is ‘Soony’ and is nine years old in a dog’s age, but her human age is 63. ‘Bero’, the fox terrier, is three years old as a dog and 29 years old in human age. The longer I spent and lived with Soony and Bero, I always wondered how they would behave if they become humans. As dogs, they are restricted in numerous ways. For example, dogs are not allowed to eat at a human restaurant. In the painting, I attempted to show each dog’s personality in a way appropriate for their age. Since Soony is 63 years old and Bero is 29 years old as humans, Soony is portrayed as if she is taking care of me like a grandmother and feeding me food with a loving smile. Then, Bero is having his personal time like a youngster, rather than spending time with me and Soony . Thus, the creation of the work reflects the wishes of the dogs being human-like.