Sun Woo begins her paintings by gathering images circulating on the internet and assembling them into Photoshop ‘sketches’, which often reference streetwear, K-pop, or video games as an enquiry into the psychological drives behind consumer culture.
‘Girls’
Woo’s ‘Girls’ series (2017—2018) explores the sexualisation of female bodies in K-pop across paintings that show alien-looking female figures with purple and green skin in revealing clothing. They are depicted brandishing dolls, as in Girl 4 (2017), or implanted with a winding key like a mechanical toy, as in Girl 5 (2018).
The figures in ‘Girls’ are rendered to resemble anime characters, drawing connections between Japanese and Korean cultures and the aesthetic strategies employed by both to market and circulate fetishised images of young women.
Log-in to Paradise
Log-in to Paradise (2019) is an acrylic painting that features a selection of imagery from video games, including flying sentinels, golden crosses, and spherical gadgets, across shades of iron reds and greens. A tube-like structure marked with the word ‘paradise’ appears to connect the two spheres within the painting, while a hand holding a phone in the lower left corner alludes to the digital realm.
Take Me Someplace Heavenly
In Take Me Someplace Heavenly (2020), a large-scale acrylic painting, a shrine-like structure of stacked sneakers, ranging from Balenciaga to Vans, is painted against an apocalyptic crimson sky. Two melting candles at the base of the structure hint at the culture of worship that surrounds brand names and streetwear.
I’m Your Genie
Shown alongside other paintings from Woo’s 2020 exhibition Wishing Well, I’m Your Genie (2020) depicts a small fairy flying over an open book, casting an illuminating spell over the pages. The painting hints at the transformation of objects and images as they are consumed and passed between between individuals and communities.
