Yooyun Yang

Yang frequently conceals faces and subtly captures intimate moments. By using shadow and composition to create distance between the viewer and the subject, the artist articulates a sense of isolation in what she describes as this ‘age of anxiety’.

Objects are fundamental to Yang’s practice, with motifs of blinds, curtains and railings frequently appearing. By repositioning them through her otherworldly gaze, objects appear increasingly foreign. A hazy, cinematic quality pervades the work and suggests the paintings’ photographic origins. Yang takes her own photographs and from them maps out her compositions. The artist paints on hanji paper, traditional Korean handmade paper made from mulberry tree bark. Yang builds up layers of diluted acrylic to control the intensity of the colour. Speaking of her paintings, Yang said ‘I want my works to be like a thorn in your mind that pricks from time to time, or like a very gentle fever.’