The last few months in New York has been a devastating experience both physically and mentally. I was overwhelmed by the freedom I had never had before, soon to feel the responsibilities that followed along with my freedom. Living by myself has allowed me to find my true self without being influenced by others, and thus the previous few months has been a journey to finding my true self. I am originally from South Korea, but grew up in various different countries throughout my developing years. Some of the countries I’ve lived includes my motherland Korea, China, Singapore, UK and more. Because of the multifaceted countries and cultures I’ve lived in, I was always forced to change and possibly act like I fitted in with these different environments. And this may be the main reason why I was so troubled and overwhelmed during the last few months in Parsons; trying to find my identity.

Unintentionally and interestingly, all the artworks I created for my studio’s Bridge projects had a recurring thematic idea of identity. The first project (which was a photography piece) dealt with idea of dual identity, moving on from being a child to an adult. Then came the more generic project: to create Postcards about a place of interest in New York. As I was heavily influenced by Patti Smith’s Just Kids, I decided to create the postcards about East Village, and the architectures of East Village. The third project was a more personal piece compared to the previous project where I decided to create and accordion book using two distinct illustrated images of black and white. This piece was heavily influenced by Persepolis, and its use of black and white simple illustrations. Like the movie, my project too was about our roots and the inevitabilities of being set free from our origins. These previous three project lead to the creation of the last project which will also deal with the concept of identity and no matter how much we struggle to be individual, our origin and culture will always influence us as individuals.

I believe it is too early to say that I have found myself completely, as I am a metamorphosing creature that is ever changing. Thus my next steps will be a continuation of my previous steps, and finding out what I truly want to do and be. Currently, I am interested in pursuing my studies in Fashion. Although not heavily interconnected with Fashion, these past projects I’ve done in studio will be the footsteps to my pursuit, as Fashion deals with the outer appearance of people, which is the visual identity of an individual.