Treading the boundary between cuteness and discomfort—innocence and hurt—South Korean artist Jinjoo Jo’s illustrations categorical the tenuous relationship people conjure with nature and a private response to a extensively publicized tragedy.
Blue Anger, a collection Jo started in 2020, portrays younger ladies interacting with bugs, that are unsettlingly massive and imposing. “I have always loved nature, but in this series, I chose to use insects as a metaphor for predators,” she says. “The young girls in the illustrations stare straight ahead as insects endlessly swarm around them. At times, I see myself as a passive witness to their suffering; at other times, I step into the artwork and become one of them.”
Many of the works seen right here belong to Blue Anger, which continues to evolve. Rendered in black, white, and a cerulean blue hue, the primary piece was made in direct response to the so-caled Nth Room case, a horrific cybersex crime that befell between 2018 and 2020. “At the time, I was overwhelmed by anger and despair,” the artist tells Colossal. “The case involved the sexual exploitation of at least 70 underage victims, who were subjected to abuse both online and offline.”
Blue Anger serves as a approach to course of the energy-draining emotion, in a way making a form of tribute to the younger individuals who had been victimized. Latest works diverge from the theme of insect-as-predator, reverting management to the younger ladies who as a substitute commune in a pond with a larger-than-life moth or coexist in an illuminated area with fluttering bugs drawn to the sunshine.
Jo primarily employs coloured pencils and graphite, often incorporating black ballpoint pens for darker particulars. She then scans her drawings in an effort to full them digitally utilizing Procreate and Photoshop.
Jo has been working for a number of years on a graphic novel associated to ongoing scientific analysis, which is at the moment in pre-production. She has additionally been engaged on an essay detailing her experiences of being pregnant, which she hopes to ultimately compile right into a small ebook. Discover extra on the artist’s web site and Instagram.
