april 17, 2025
i started this current illustrative ceramic approach to convey heavy character individualism while also activating my engagement in fine art for individually made figurines to appreciate its contextual value beyond cuteness. during my undergraduate career, i was often told that cartoons and illustrations were not valid to be conveyed in the fine art realm and were only able to redeem their value for commercial purposes. they would then be considered as “decorative”, especially in the ceramic form. i stylistically depict cuteness in executing work, so there could always be an immediate reaction that the cuteness was apparent, but not much conceptual meaning would be translated. i felt stigmatic views often because i knew how much more the cuteness approach would be appreciated immensely more if it was collected in a transportable form like stickers or products for the toy and stationary industries. this specifically hit me when the japanese figurine line called “sonny angel” went viral in 2021-2022 on tiktok. “sonny angel(s)” are small, collectible figurines from japan, published by toru soeya. their signature sonny character is a naked baby boy with angel wings attached to his back with a timid, yet cheeky facial expression, but is paired with various headgear and outfits. they are sold in blind boxes, so the only hint to knowing what you’ll open is through the type of theme they are part of. i figured the addiction to sonny angels has been through their effortless cuteness, but also consistent cuteness where each figurine was simply cute and collectible from their homogenous blueprint of the same expressions and stance, just different clothing accessories.
through the subcultural upper hand of fashion, i aimed to spend my senior year to explore emotional circumstances from the immediate hints of depiction through outfits and create figurines that were not just cute and could rather explore stories instead. the figurine art scene has increasingly shifted from artistic expression to consumerism, where figurines have been valued more for their marketability rather than character representation, resulting in over-commercialization and mass production, unnecessary consumption, copyright and originality issues, and labor exploitation issues. with their cuteness, the emotional comfort that well known toy figurines like “sonny angel” have given to gen z have caused worldwide shortages as the creating companies have struggled to meet the demand. as these figurines are packaged in mystery boxes, they make every unboxing flooding with expectations to redeem a new doll. but once unopened as a repeated purchase, their values dilute, making their characters consumed for the purpose of compulsive collecting. the automatic regime of unboxings made me reflect on how the simplicity of these dolls have enabled consumers to lack appreciation for the characteristic quality but rather value on quantity appreciation from the minimal range of postures, names, facial expressions, and origins. therefore, i handbuilt my own figurines minding their own businesses to portray specific individualism of diverse characters using specific activities, expressions, poses, and outfits. i made a cat, hippo, giraffe, skunk, and a little girl.
nobody knows i have fuzzy socks on (2025)
26.5”h x 8”d x 6”w
juno is a grey cat that noticeably is wearing all black until she lifts her pants up to show off her pink fuzzy socks. the immediate intimidation by the nonchalance of all black closet owners was always installed in me until i realized you never know who could be wearing fuzzy socks no matter how serious they seem...until they lift up their pants. i was in Asia this past winter when I first encountered a convenience store with the first floor bombarded with fuzzy sock inventory to engage with the winter fashion necessity. i started imagining what it would be like for anyone with a serious demeanor to lift up their pants just to see them wearing pink fuzzy socks. juno is showing that her socks keep her true to her own contentment from the double portrayal of wearing all black and fuzzy socks. i dressed juno in a black fur coat to contribute to her sophistication and sassiness, a cropped blazer, black trousers, black combat boots, and lastly pink fuzzy socks. the reputation of fuzzy socks are loud in enthusiasm as they are usually worn during the holiday season for warmth and celebratory purposes.
i ❤ k-pop (2025)
22”h x 13”d x 7”w
my hippo named Wookku, is a hippo in homewear dancing solo while holding his phone to listen to music. while holding his phone, he is listening to what I consider the most influential k-pop boy group of the 2010s, EXO. wookku is specifically listening to EXO’s debut album called “XOXO”. wookku’s wearing a shirt saying “I ❤ ️ K-POP” with some iceberg grey sweatpants. the most comfortable outfit to wear is what i call “home wear”, a random shirt with comfortable pants, so i can dance. they’re not necessarily pajamas as pajamas are a bit of a committed attire. i realized i liked to dance a lot in first grade and had to learn choreography by my teacher to a song called “no.1” by another k-pop artist named BoA. BoA has been recognized as the “queen of k-pop” as she debuted when k-pop first started getting developed. she was so easily known for her sharp singing and dancing ability that many of my dance lessons used her songs to learn routines from the complexity of her performances. so in first grade, i found out the password to our family computer and would go on the internet to practice daily, for hours, while my parents were at work. i had just discovered youtube, and would practice dancing by looking up her performance videos and dancing in front of my bathroom mirror or the reflection of my bedroom window at night. instantly, my recommendation feed on youtube until my middle school days were just music videos and performance recordings of k-pop of multiple generations ranging from the groups like S.E.S, 소녀시대 (girls' generation), T-ara, SHINee, Afterschool, 2NE1, BIGBANG, SISTAR, and then EXO.
EXO came out with their “XOXO” album when I was in 6th grade in 2013, and brought a different level of fangirling to so many young girls. EXO was a 12 member boyband (now a 9 member band) and were so undeniably famous in Asia because of their particular performance quality and visual executions while also having korean and chinese members, extending their audience beyond korea. their promotion visual executions were very ideal for the boyband aesthetic using high school uniforms, football uniforms, christmas elves, and even superheroes to create storylines for each album they would make throughout their active period until 2016. i would consider their “XOXO” album to be their defining album of their careers as it was when all 12 members were still in the group and was also when they released the song “으르렁 (Growl)”, which is one of their most streamed songs to this day.
“으르렁 (Growl)” was the title track of the “XOXO” album, and it was a successful album with the use of the high school boy concept but also the diversity of sound amongst all the songs in the album. when a k-pop group has a title track, they use that song to promote their entire album and the concepts they use for the tracks typically brand the entire promoting period. it is the primary song that is heavily promoted in music shows, radio shows, music videos, and is generally the song people hear first as it acts as the “single” of the album. “으르렁 (Growl)” was so viral, but i had absolutely no one to share the fascination of it with at school as k-pop was not familiar as a hobby or culture to others in the town i grew up in. instead, i would just spend hours daily just engaging with the musical, choreographical, and fashion conceptual aspects and the popularity of the promotion of the “XOXO” album eventually became a pivotal experience every girl around my age grew up with.
i still listen to their songs released back then to relive the moment from when it started. i find it unfortunate how globalized k-pop has become with the urge to promote within western standards, where many songs are promoted now in english. i can not see how people younger or people who did not live listening to k-pop in the early 2000s and 2010s, can relate to the urge of fangirling the same way. since the urge to go back in time is so avidly existent, i find myself dancing by myself to the same music as i did when i was in middle school as it is the most accessible way to do so. i found so much cultural and artistic fascination through k-pop, and specifically second generation k-pop as i was at an age where fangirling became a committable hobby, but was in an environment where many were not aware of this subculture. wookku is a portrayal of myself to this day, as i loved the k-pop produced when i was in elementary and middle school, but feel the disadvantages of rapid globalization of k-pop to this day.
i can’t even see what i’m doing right now (2025)
26”h x 12”d x 18”w
infy the giraffe is struggling to do pottery due to her height. i use the pottery wheel often in my practice and have severe shoulder and back pain from frequent use. i am only 5’6”, so this made me wonder how people taller than me manage their physical condition on the potter’s wheel. i hardly see those of such height use the wheel, until I saw a very tall USC track and field athlete, around 6’5” student, start to take wheel throwing at Roski this semester. it was the first time I ever saw someone so tall on the wheel, but also it was the first time I ever saw someone look so uncomfortable on the wheel. this is when I realized how the articulation of a giraffe’s height could be used in the contextual sense of the societal glorification of tall people because a touch to clay never lies. When a potter makes a pot, balance and central body posture is very vital to achieving smoothly orbited pots. Although Infy has the inability to center clay properly from the disadvantage of her height, she still continues her ambition to make pottery. I named her Infy from referring to the mix of INFJ and INFP Myers-Brigg Personality traits, where those with either MBTIs are intuitive, focusing on possibilities rather than concrete facts.
honminchoco (2025)
21”h x 8”d x 4”w
my mint chocolate chip ice cream loving skunk, frunk, is my personal favorite. last year, i was fascinated by the existence of skunks because to this day, i still have not seen one in person. they’re like a mythological creature to me because i can not tell if i have ever smelled them in passing and can recognize their spirit instead. after much research, i felt resonant with them. most people associate skunks to be smelly due to their reputation of spraying, but they actually only spray when they are scared. this fact is so endearing to me because it feels like they are the introvertiest of the introverts in this world and are the most independent and timid. skunks are very independent and actually play a pivotal role in ecosystems by acting as a natural pest control by scavenging and dispersing seeds, eating garden pests, and consuming grubs which are typically damaging to lawns and gardens. as they are also nocturnal, they bring an immediate persona of independence for their own survival and good.
around 2021, 2022, there was a goofy controversy revolving around mint chocolate chip ice cream in korea from the shock of a new flavor in the food palette revolving around mint. it was either you love mint chocolate chip ice cream so much that it was your ride or die, or that you think it is literal mint toothpaste and that you wouldn’t dare go near it. korea’s sincerity to ice cream is genuine as their Baskin Robbins is always making the ice cream market run with unique and consistent flavors, and with the advantage of convenience stores, ice cream culture is not taken lightly. this controversy led many food producers like fast food restaurants to create all sorts of mint chocolate chip flavored items that ideally wouldn’t pair well with the flavor: soju, fried chicken, tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes), and hamburgers. this was so ridiculous, but fascinating as a read on people and their tastes that i wanted to liberate frunk and have him enjoy all the mint chocolate ice cream he desired. despite being cold, as long as he eats his ice cream, life would be good by himself, in the corner. he is leaning back to indicate leisure and peace of eating in solitude. my subtitle for frunk is called honmincho because hon is short for “alone” in Korean and mincho is short for “mint chocolate chip" in Korean as well. And yes, mint chocolate chip is my favorite ice cream flavor.
no “koong! koong!” (2025)
20”h x 9”d x 9”w
lastly, i sculpted a girl named bini, who is actually supposed to represent my childhood. bini is standing on a pillow, with blue string rope going around a chair and also taped to a wall. she is playing a game by herself and the game is supposedly called elastics in america, but it is more familiar to me as “chinese jump rope” or even “고무줄 뛰기". chinese jump rope is a game that requires 3 people at minimum- 2 people to hold it by their knees and one player in the middle to jump against the string. the challenge of the game is to move the string up from the ankles to calves to knees to hip area in a succession manner. this used to be my favorite game growing up, but i always hated how much social requirement it had. despite the structure required, my ambition led me to play it by myself in my room where I would grab a heavy chair, scotch tape, and a pillow. i lived on the 3rd floor of my apartment, so my mom was always so conscious of us making noise while walking. noise in Korean is referred to by the onomatopoeia of “koong”. so my mom would always check on me everytime I would make excessive ground noise, saying “no koong! koong!”. to prevent this, i would put tennis balls on the feet of my chair, wrap one side of the rope to the chair, heavily tape down the other side of the rope, and then jump on the pillow. everytime i made a jump, i would always check whether anyone heard me or not. everytime i successfully jumped, i would move the rope up and up, until i couldn’t anymore. i was interested in incorporating a human sculpture that represented ambition and possibility with effort for this collection. although the tape would never be strong enough to hold my jumps and the rope would slide too much down, making my jumps stronger than intended, i still had fun practicing through what felt rebellious and ambitious. through using my real life experience, the idea of both animals and humans making certain situations that seem harder, possible, was to be portrayed.