We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kyung Eun You. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kyung Eun below.

Alright, Kyung Eun thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

In 2019, I made artist’s book “where are we now” published by Women’s Studio Workshop in Rosendale, NY. It is comprised of 2 sets of 25 images portraying aftermaths of my mom’s passing in Los Angeles in 2009. The images depict my dad’s alcoholic behaviors, my depression, and our struggle to find answers to where we were as newly immigrated family from Korea that come back in circle.

The book has opened up a conversation within my family members on a topic that we avoided to talk about. Further I could reach the audience across the US and get special messages.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Hi, my name is Kyung Eun You. I am a Korean visual artist based in New York. My primary medium is printmaking, and artist’s book, and I try to explore other media including acrylics paintings, Ipad drawings and animations in the recent years.

I make images that linger in my memories as a way of understanding myself and the world surrounding me. Not only the final works, but the process of image making is a question and answer to which memories have remained, returned, and why. Experiences with family issues, depression, panic episodes, and dreams have been main themes in my work. Image making practice has been a means of digesting the past, and transforming memories into visual stories.

Most recently I am drawing a comic, “Happy Bakery (working title)” in a circular pages. It will be also a limited editioned artist’s book with a half sphere shaped cover. The story is about a character who wears a ballon head with a smiley face drawn onto, why they wear it, and what happens with the balloon.

Imagemaking and storymaking can be very solitary when making them, but the sharing them with larger audiences has made me feel more connected to one another.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

Having a person or two you can talk about your work in progress is the number one. I am a shy person and I always avoided to show my work if it wasn’t finished. I am the one who knows all the intentions in the project, and it is so important to ask friends or mentors to look at it and see if they get how much of the intentions. Having an open mind to feedback was very helpful as well. Even when I didn’t agree when I get the feedback, I would think about it, and question about why it was suggested. Seeing your work in different perspectives is difficult, yet important to try.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Art practices help me a lot emotionally. It is nothing big like a goal or mission. If my work reaches who are in emotional distress, and relieved knowing they are not alone, I would really appreciate it.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://youkyungeun.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/kyungeunyou