Vision as an Artist

Working with painting, drawing, and mixed media, my artworks explore the issue of inadequate nutrition due to economic disparity and the health consequences arising from different dietary patterns. Unbalanced nutrition is a critical societal issue that needs urgent governmental action; it is inextricably tied to people’s overall health and economic status. In our society, sustenance like food, housing, and healthcare are treated as commodities, not as human rights that are accessible to growing children. If we, as a society, ensure that people receive the necessary nutrients to prevent adverse health outcomes, the population will flourish going forward, making up healthy future generations.

Among my artworks that explore societal inequities, my piece “Fading Wonderland” presents the problem of improper childhood nutrition, especially among lower-income people. I used a snack wrapper as a symbol for unhealthy ultra-processed food that threatens children’s health. I painted a dress in the form of a conglomeration of vegetables, which represents the notion that children are expected to be well nourished, consuming a healthy balanced diet. This problem leads to a broader issue depicted in “A Dying Chorus,” a symbolic representation of our society's failing progression and deteriorating public health. The vivid blood of the fish represents the destructive impact that a sick human population imposes on its own society. The failing health of the low-income class is depicted in the work “Hotel California” which illustrates an unhoused person straying on the streets of downtown LA. In this depiction, vibrant flowers stand in for the wealthy. In sharp contrast with those individuals, the unhoused person eats for survival, which results in a poor diet that exacerbates the health of her unhealthy body. Lastly, “Priceless Meal” depicts a typical school lunch in my home country of South Korea, yet with diamonds on top. In this depiction, I have added the diamonds to represent the nutritional value that the meal provides, underscoring the importance of a health policy that promotes nutritional balance in the general public, especially for students who need proper nutrition for their best performance.
 

As a young artist creating art pieces centered on the problems of malnutrition, economic disparity, and health consequences harming society’s progression, I intend to raise awareness of current problems that lead to society’s inevitable failure when current policies and measures for childhood nutrition continue. I aim to propose food as a basic right for growing children as they are the ones our future society is dependent on. Again, food, housing, and healthcare should not be commodities; rather, they are basic rights that our society must ensure growing children can access.
​