- On the way. 48 cm x 55 cm. Oil on canvas.
- Prayer. 65 cm x 65 cm. Oil on canvas.
- Song of Mother, 2021. Size: 76x101cm. Oil on canvas.
Young Zoo is rooted in her experience of Korean identity in her art and life as an Australian immigrant through her many years in Australia.
In her paintings, Young Zoo says she currently lives in Australia, but she expresses her longing for Korea, her hometown where she was born and raised. Working as a Korean female artist in Sydney, she presents her own experiences and emotions through her paintings and captures her beautiful moments to her audience. Behind the dreamy, fairy tale colours lay the sadness and cultural background of a long-time Australian immigrant. She sublimated her longing for Korea into her art.
In her paintings, she created a 'third art' that magnified her own diaspora experience. Her 'immigration art' contains a unique sensibility. The reality in her paintings, a mixture of backgrounds and cultures from Australia and Korea, is a sad and difficult life, but she expresses it in bright colours and gives the audience a message that there is hope.
Young Zoo's work 'Prayer' was inspired by the bells she heard in Korea as a child. In the self-portrait of praying, the bell sound expressed as if a bell was ringing. Her green primary colour background represents herself ultimately returned to nature to the beginning, and her roots, traditional Korean patterns, are abstractly drawn in the environment.
In her work, “On the way,” she hopes to express a colourful life, the traces of countless time and life.
'Song of Mother' captures the reality of the pandemic, the sadness of not being able to return to her sick mother in South Korea. She described these tragic and sad circumstances from a dreamy and fairy tale perspective. The dried flowers under the sick mother in the picture represent relationships with people who have spiritual connections in life. She sees an angel protecting her ailing mother and singing a song. The bright and warm colours in her paintings mean the comfort and healing that she gives to herself. Her work is an emotional expression of her longing for her homeland, which she cannot return to as an immigrant living in Australia.
Young Zoo Chung
Young Zoo Chung is a Korean background artist based in Sydney. She studied at Hongik University, one of the top art colleges in South Korea. She was born in South Korea and immigrated to Australia with her family in 2001. Currently, she is one of the significant members of the Korean Women’s Art Society in Sydney (KWASS), helping Korean women in art activities.
Young Zoo Chung is a Korean background artist based in Sydney. She studied at Hongik University, one of the top art colleges in South Korea. She was born in South Korea and immigrated to Australia with her family in 2001. Currently, she is one of the significant members of the Korean Women’s Art Society in Sydney (KWASS), helping Korean women in art activities.
