Art Gallery
“The Joy Of Koi" By Yang SooYeon
“The Joy of Koi" is a piece that holds a special place in my heart as Japanese Koi are my favourite kind of fish. Their colours have always captivated me and the elegance that surrounds them. They represent good fortune in China, while in Japan, they symbolise love and friendship.
“The Beauty Of The Lotus" By Yang SooYeon
“The Beauty Of The Lotus” is a piece that I drew for my Taai Po, my maternal great grandmother. It was her favourite flower and she often times wore garments that had embroidered versions of this flower. In Chinese culture, the Lotus symbolises ultimate purity of the heart and mind.
“Take A Leap Of Faith" By Yang SooYeon
“Take A Leap Of Faith" is a piece that showcases a beautiful flower that is blooming and symbolises that no matter what you are going through, you too, can keep going. The Japanese script that is accompanying the drawing translates to, “If you do not enter the tiger’s cave, you will not catch its cub.”
Meaning: You can’t achieve anything without taking risks, or “nothing ventured, nothing gained.”
“Circle Of Fortune" By Yang SooYeon
"Circle Of Fortune” is a piece that was drawn with the memory of a specific Jade vase with similar designs etched into it. It was a gift for my Taai Po (My Maternal Great Grandmother) from my Taai Gung (My Maternal Great Grandfather). He gave it to her on the day of their 50th wedding anniversary. Their love was unlimited and they had the fortune of finding one another.
“A Koi’s Way Of Life" By Yang SooYeon
“A Koi’s Way Of Life" is a piece that mimics how you would often see this particular fish swim in ponds and around one another. There was always a wave of grace to the way they swam and I often times used to sit in my bedroom as a child, wondering if I could ever move like them.
“Perseverance” By Yang SooYeon
“Perseverance” is a piece that was inspired by the Japanese script that accompanies the drawing itself. It translates to, “Fall down seven times, stand up eight.”
Meaning: This one rolls “if at first you don’t succeed” and “perseverance is better than defeat” into one idiom.
The clouds that are the part of this piece reminded me of a painting I had seen in a cafe that was located in Shanghai. The food was delicious!
“The Emerald Dragon” By Yang SooYeon
“The Emerald Dragon” is a piece that depicts a sharp clawed foot coming through a large talisman in an emerald lining. The inspiration behind this drawing was my older sister, who is born in the Chinese Year of the Dragon and she used to have this drawing of an intricate talisman that was brought from Bejing.
The reason why I chose emerald green was because I love this shade of green and my Popo (my maternal grandmother) had a rosary made with glass hearts in that exact shade.
“An Oni’s Mask” By Yang SooYeon
“An Oni’s Mask” is a piece that was drawn that was inspired by a photograph of an elderly Japanese man, who was shown sculpting a full-faced Oni mask. It was one of the most intricate clay sculptures I have ever seen!
An oni is a kind of yōkai, demon, ogre, or troll in Japanese folklore. They are typically portrayed as hulking figures with one or more horns growing out of their heads. Stereotypically, they are conceived of as red, blue or white-colored, wearing loincloths of tiger pelt, and carrying iron kanabō clubs.
“My Golden Friend” By Yang SooYeon
“My Golden Friend” is a piece that was drawn with the memory of my pet goldfish, Bubbles. He was alive for only about a year, sadly because he got incredibly sick and there was nothing we could do. He had beautiful large orange gold fins and I loved him so much.
Bubbles’ favourite thing was to swim around his tank and weave himself through the underwater plants.
“My Octopus Teacher”
“My Octopus Teacher” is a piece that was inspired by the Netflix documentary. It was an amazing experience to witness and it aided in my love for that particular sea creature to grow.
The Japanese script that accompanies this drawing translates to, "The water flows."
Meaning; "to forgive and forget, letting things go."
Just like the water of the ocean that surrounds an octopi, the former is fitting, don't you think?
“Open Up”
"Open Up" is a piece that was drawn with the memory of a specific clay pot in mind. I had been visiting an antique shop in China Town about eight (8) years ago and remembered seeing this very intricate clay vase.
The carvings were etched into the material and painted with royal blue paint.
It was finished with a gloss that made everything stand out even more, sadly the vase was too heavy for me to purchase, even though I really wished I could.
“Beauty Of The Sea”
"Beauty Of The Sea" is a piece that showcases one of my close friends favourite animal. Sea turtles are so cute and captivating to watch when they move.
I added Japanese Cherry Blossoms because those are my all time favourite flower.
The Korean script translates to "Beauty," in spring the name of the entire drawing.
“The Geisha's Grace" By Yang SooYeon
“The Geisha's Grace" is a piece that depicts a Japanese Geisha dressed in a floral kimono and holding a paper umbrella. The inspiration behind this drawing is my cousin, Janine, who has been living in Japan for the past decade and a half. There's a picture at my Aunt's home of her dressed up as a Geisha for a cultural play she was in. I thought she looked so beautiful and thus this piece was born.
“The Beauties Of Life" By Yang SooYeon
“The Beauties Of Life” is a piece that the name actually is the literal translation for the four Japanese characters. However, separately they mean in order; "Flower," "Bird," "Wind" and "Moon." These are some of the beauties of the world, along with the goldfish that is depicted in this drawing.
“Xian Xiao" By Yang SooYeon
“Xian Xiao" is a piece that funnily enough was inspired by my love of snakes and well as for me being born in the Chinese Year of The Snake. The Cantonese characters are written in a bright sapphire blue because that is my birthstone.
It translates to; "Happiness is the best cosmetic."