jeong woojae
DESCRIPTION
The Girl and her DogTRANSCRIPT
Jeong Woojae | The Girl And Her Dog
JEONG WOOJAE | THE GIRL AND HER DOG
Jeong Woojae was born in Korea in 1983. He has a BA in Fine Art at Chugye
University and an MA in Fine Art from Hong-Ik University.
Jeong’s paintings are charming and playful expressions of the bond between humans
and their animals. At first glance, they might appear to be a straightforward celebration
of their animal subject, yet the works go beyond mere realism – a spell Jeong is keen to
shatter with the playful reversal in the size of his figures. For Jeong, each ingredient in
his composition has a symbolic resonance; his animal compositions are the vocabulary
through which he addresses a particular contemporary malaise.
Concerned by the increasingly unfeeling nature of our fast-paced society, Jeong
maintains that humanity needs to rekindle our former nature and embrace a kind of
purity of state – something that continues to exist in our animals.
As is evident from his inversion of scale and compositional importance, Jeong is
keen to explore the complementary nature of the relationship between humans and
animals, and to express the dual roles that both partners enjoy as carer and cared-
for at once. Although outwardly the relationship between pet and owner is one of
human superiority, each animal provides its owner with a source of comfort, meeting
the basic human need for friendship and affection. Jeong’s work attempts to address
the inner human contradiction that comes with owning an animal – at once it evidences
our emotional insecurity and need for support, and yet it simultaneously resolves
this craving, providing the healing and solace that makes us stronger. For Jeong, the
prevailing emotional emptiness of modern society enhances the importance of these
relationships, inflating or reliance on them and allowing them to be hyper-realised. In
other imagery, the magnified size of the dog might feel menacing, yet Jeong’s painting
it is clearly celebrated as protector and guardian.
Jeong uses the character of the girl in his paintings, poised in adolescence, to mirror
his own self. Caught between the dependency of childhood and self-assuredness
of adulthood, she encapsulates the artist’s own anxieties about the burgeoning
responsibilities and anxieties of independence. Working from photographs of actual
locations in Seoul, the specificity of the backgrounds anchor these scenes in the real
world, yet their deserted nature ensures that the focus of the composition is always on
the bond between the subjects.
A painter of exquisite technique, Jeong’s work is remarkable for the delicacy of his
colours and the mastery of his brushstrokes. His incredible deployment of light becomes
a literal expression of the warmth of the fellowship between the girl and her dog.
Gleaming – UnspokenOil on canvas 97 x 145.5 cm, 2012
Gleaming – Accompany by...Oil on canvas 91 x 116.8 cm, 2012
Gleaming – Accompany by... IIOil on canvas 91 x 116.8 cm, 2013
Gleaming – WhisperOil on canvas 112.1 x 162.2 cm, 2013
Gleaming – IntimateOil on canvas 89.4 x 145.5cm, 2013
Gleaming – Share With YouOil on canvas 130.3 x 162.2 cm, 2013
Gleaming – Mellow ChatOil on canvas 80.3 x 116.8 cm, 2012
Gleaming – Flow In YouOil on canvas 130.3 x 162.2 cm, 2013
Gleaming – Take To HeartOil on canvas 53 x 72.7 cm, 2013
Gleaming – Calm ReflectionOil on canvas 112.1 x 162.2 cm, 2013
