A Korean Illustrator’s Existentially Damaged Illustrations

May 7, 2017, 7:40am

With life-like representation of animals, sensual humans, and patterns with a historic bent, Korean illustrator Dani Soon transcends typical hyperrealistic drawings. The dichotomous nature of her drawings place aching human emotion alongside animal sidekicks. Other artworks put on display robotic-like human protagonists who are being decomposed by the natural world.

In an artist statement, Soon explains that “living in such a remote town meant there was not much to do, so books and drawing became her biggest pastime enjoyment.” She describes her connection with nature as integral to how she developed as an artist: “Being at one with Mother Nature also allowed [my] imagination to run wild. The environment had a critical impact on her decision to be an artist.”

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The artist uses digital computer tools to form most of her compositions, though preliminary hand-drawn sketches are Soon’s means to plan the atmosphere of her works. In terms of aesthetic, the artist shares she wishes to “express the feeling of being on the boundary between reality and fantasy […] I prefer to visualize sentences, which are grammatically correct but somewhat and illogical and give unfamiliar feelings.”