♡ Lara Violetta ♡

Two magazine-loving girls talk about Lara Violetta’s
new magazine for the magazine Sarah works for.

Text Sarah Yeonkyung Choi

No one loves magazines as much as Lara Violetta. The smell of printed paper is her entire childhood (her father worked as an art director at a fashion publication). She studied the women in the pages, dreaming of stepping into their high heels, which she wore to school. Her heart beat to the click-clack of heels.

Lara Violetta is a German all-around creative living in Paris. She came to Paris as a freelance graphic designer four years ago, started posting Youtube videos during the lockdown, and launched her magazine, Violet Papers a month ago. In the first issue, ‘What’s Inside,’ you’ll find Lara crouching on the cool grey Parisian sidewalk with gigantic D’heygere earrings, a makeup brush in her mouth, a Dior eyeshadow palette in hand, and her silver Balenciaga motorcycle bag on the floor. Wherever she goes, she’s carrying a magazine.

Many of your photos are set against the streets of Paris. I can really feel your love for the city.

The city always inspires me a lot. What I love about the city is that you can be so sucked in in your own world, and then, you realize no one cares about you. It’s always moving, it's so fast, it's so loud, and it demands so much from you. But sometimes you can find quietness within this mess, and it’s in these moments that I like to take pictures.

I heard you became a content creator on accident.

I was always interested in taking pictures, and I always loved everything about creating content, but I never intentionally thought I would start as an influencer. I had so much fun with my first YouTube video, so I continued doing it. After a while, I realized that I should also probably post on Instagram and half-a-year later, it took off.

Do you identify as content creator, editor-in-chief, graphic designer, or all of the above?

All of them. I think being put into a box is quite outdated. I'm really happy to do what I love and it being in so many different variations.

Brands now refer to content creators as talents. Could you describe brands’ changing attitudes and approaches towards content creators?

What’s important for the brands is to find the right match for them. I see brands creating a long-lasting relationship with their talents, and I feel that this is the most authentic growth for both. It has changed. Now brands appreciate it when talents have their pursuits apart from content creation. If you have a brand relationship based on trust and you feel that they also want to support you and what you do, that's when it works the best.

The first issue of Violet Papers tackling how digital formats would transition into print. How do you perceive the roles of print and digital in today's media landscape?

I think print will never really go away. What I've discovered through the magazine is how many young creatives hold onto and believe in it, which was surprising because it was definitely a risk for me. I wasn't sure. It made me so happy. Everyone has an emotional attachment to print. I got so many messages, saying, ‘Yeah, I always used collage’. I think print is the starting point of getting into the creative, and it's nice to be able to have this longevity of content in print. It will never go away.

Could you tell us more about the process behind the first issue?

Starting a magazine from scratch was difficult because you have to earn the trust of the contributors, and we started with nothing. It was just a PDF with my thoughts. When we reached out to the first people, it was quite humbling because people were confused, especially with the concept of flipping digital formats to print and with a new form of advertisement that included fashion podcasts and vintage stores. The most difficult part was to get the first contributor on board because it’s from there that you go to the next one. It’s like fishing: you need one fish to catch another fish.

Speaking of advertisements, Laura & Deana Fanning usually never does print advertisements, but they made an exception for you.

Yeah, I still can't believe they did this because I admire their work so much. I was really touched by it. They also fit it to the theme of the issue; the issue was all about ‘What's Inside’, and they took time to do this ad that showed the process of making the shoe. I felt so lucky.

Is that one of the brands you work most closely with?

Yes, they believed in me from the beginning. I was quite small when they found me, and they are always so nice after the shows. The talents get to see the mood boards and the behind-the-scenes, and I really admire their work because it's so complex. I think it's intelligent the way they play with fabrics and everything cuts. They’re definitely one of my favorite brands, and as I said in the beginning, this is the most amazing relationship you can have with a brand.

The first issue launched with ‘The Paper bag’, a double-fringed strap bag designed to carry magazines.

Necessity is the mother of invention. ‘The Paper bag’ was something I needed since I love to carry around my magazines, and publications got bigger and bigger as magazines produce less publications a year. Whenever I would have an appointment, I wouldn’t want to always take the biggest bag that I have, but the magazine would not fit otherwise. It was really important for me to have something that would be variable to different sizes of publications because my whole philosophy is re-wearing pieces as much as possible. Also, there’s this whole stigma around influencers just taking pictures with magazines without actually reading it, so it was such a funny idea to, as an influencer, create both a magazine and an accessory for the magazine that allows you to wear the magazine as an accessory (laughs).

Were you part of the whole design process from start to finish?

Yes, my boyfriend studied in Antwerp, and he's an amazing designer. We initially had two different versions of it, and we went through the whole process until it became what it is today.

How do you stay inspired in a world of over-saturation?

It's always been magazines for the most part. TikTok too, of course, but inspiration can be everywhere, and it's important to leave your bubble sometimes. TikTok can be a bubble, but with magazines, you can find so many amazing things that are not picked out for you by the algorithm. But I also love Pinterest and Tumblr. I will forever be a Tumblr girl.

Your approach to makeup is minimalist yet experimental. Do you get inspiration from something that you see or do you do your makeup as you feel like the morning of?

A mix of both! I try not to be in my head too much. If I have a picture in my mind or an idea, and I'm too stuck on it, it doesn't work out. It’s important to try and to fail. I try and fail a lot, and that's what people don't see, but I always explore what I'm into at the moment, especially with colors. It takes time. I was actually in Seoul last September, and I miss Olive Young so much!

What were your first impressions of Seoul?

I loved the energy, and I loved everyone’s looks! Everyone was very open.

♡ Sabukaru ♡

Connecting worlds.

Text Sarah Yeonkyung Choi

My friend Andy was featured in a Sabukaru post. Her ex-boyfriend blew up her phone the next day, screaming, “I hate you, I can’t believe you’re featured in my favorite magazine.” Sabukaru is an independent online magazine based in Tokyo, connecting (sub)cultures for the past five years. Adrian Bianco, known by everyone as Bianco, is editor-in-chief of Sabukaru, creative strategist of Gata (run by Marta Espinosa), and founder of creative company Bianco Bianco. From a small town in Germany, his love for anime—particularly Dragon Ball—hardcore online games, and ramen led him to relocate to Tokyo. Sabukaru's pop-up at 8division in May saw the worlds of Dazed Korea and Sabukaru collide. In Helmut Lang SS1999 prisoner pants, Rick Owens high-top Ramones sneakers, and sunglasses, he kept thanking us for our time and interest, when the roles should have been reversed.

Do you think your outsider perspective on Japanese culture allows you to adopt a unique approach that resonates with others?

It definitely helped the magazine grow. Japanese people often tell us that they love what we're doing. They never saw certain topics as interesting, or they never gave a second glance to certain aspects of the everyday. The curiosity is different when you’re on the outside. I'm from Germany, and I would only need thirty seconds to tell you what I like about the country. Somebody else that visits Germany will certainly have a lot more to tell you.

I get it! I spent the past six months in Hamburg for an internship and while I was enamored, my colleagues took my comments with amusement. I understand that your team consists of a global network of friends and even reader-turned editors. Could you share with us more about your team?

I always say I don't have much talent, but the only talent I have is finding talented people and bringing them together. I used to have a blog before the magazine, and I had a few die-hard—[laughs] good—readers who became the crutch of Sabukaru. Then it slowly snowballed into this international community. Currently, the majority of our magazine is female-led. People often get the wrong idea because we post hot, sexy, revealing content sometimes, and it’s easy to dismiss an attractive woman as a product of the male gaze when in reality, it’s driven by female agency. We have strong female writers, like Mizuki for example. She was one of our leading writers, but she now focuses on art under the name Exit Number Five (@exitnumberfive). Sabukaru organically changes and always reflects the people behind the operation.

Your team works on both Sabukaru and Gata. How do you decide which content is for Gata and which is for Sabukaru, and is there any overlap?

We always describe Gata as the edgy sister or girlfriend. You can spot a Gata writer on first sight. I think the same goes for Sabukaru, but it’s more evident with Gata. Topics arise organically for both. Some writers contribute to both, while some write just on Gata or just on Sabukaru. Everybody just does what they do, and it somehow naturally works in parallel quite well.

How would you describe the Sabukaru Girl? What's her morning routine? What brands does she look for when shopping?

She’s Miu Miu without the logo, Kiko Kostadinov Asics ballerina shoes, tights, and a skirt. She references popular fashion, but she’s more design-led than brand-led and shys away from signifiers. I think about Ora and Yasmina from our team. Ora needs to have a coffee in the morning, otherwise the engine doesn’t start working. They're not afraid of sitting alone in a kissaten (喫茶店, a small coffee shop) for three hours reading an obscure book and detaching themselves completely from the outside world. They’ll end up at one of the coolest parties at night, say hello, stay one or two hours, and not overdo it. When they enter the room, they’re like a knife through warm butter: warm and welcoming. They’re not arrogant; there's no high ground. They talk to people, they're very open and very interested to explore whatever and whoever is in front of them.

Her current goals and priorities?

To do what you love. This is a generation, and I think Sabukaru is a good example, searching for fulfilling careers instead of traditional ones. To spend time with what makes you interested in the world. Did you see the meme last week about people who read magazines versus people who write magazines?

Yes, I shared that with my team!(laughs)

It's a bit of self-suffering to work at a magazine, right? You could also have an easier life, but you do it for yourself.

How do you keep these passion projects passionate?

I used to work a long time at Vice, and I saw the growth of Highsnobiety because I was based in Berlin. I learned a lot from both magazines. I believe if a magazine's goal is linked to revenue, you have a problem when it comes to content. We at Sabukaru always write about what we like. That's why there's never a creativity block. We rather need to be patient and not get stressed by having not enough time. I always compare Sabukaru to a pirate crew since our agency Bianco Bianco funds the magazine and allows Sabukaru to remain independent. We work like maniacs, but I appreciate having two different energies in the office.

As subcultures gain momentum, especially with niche aesthetics experiencing rapid turnover on TikTok, does the increasing popularity of Sabukaru concern you in any way?

Subcultures are easy viral content on TikTok and on Instagram, with photo slideshows gaining millions of views. We're not doing that. We're always digging deeper and writing a long text. We will not let the algorithm translate us into fast content. Subcultures gaining popularity helped us to define ourselves even more. I don’t believe that it will die out. Fast content inevitably creates curious people who want to dig deeper.

You’ve reached a global audience and you've recently expanded your work to China and Korea. Do you see the emergence of a Pan-Asian identity?

100%, I do believe that...Our team has been in Japan five years now, and recently, I zoomed out and realized that I’m not living in Japan, I’m living in Asia. I see there's something boiling in Southeast Asia—in Indonesia and Thailand, for example. I would love to report on these growing scenes. We’re slowly tapping into Korea too, and the next year will represent our hunger to expand.

A friend of mine who spent a lot of time in Thailand told me you know The Future is Ladyboy too.

Nalin is the best. We have an interview with her coming soon. Bangkok and Thailand in general are really on the rise right now.

You work with a lot of emerging brands.

We run a showroom in Paris, and we bring almost only emerging talent. At one point a young brand has to start, and at one point a young brand needs support. It’s crucial to support emerging talent, to inspire a new generation to kick things off. Today, I'm wearing Luca Hamers. It feels more personal to wear young designers, especially persona-designed brands, and I think this excitement carries on to our readers. I hope Sabukaru will stay a platform that is mainly focused on emerging designers.

Luca Hamers is one of the brands showing at 8division. Could you tell us more about the three brands that you’re bringing?

Luca Hamers is a Dutch designer living in London. He studied at Central Saint Martins, and we featured his thesis collection on Sabukaru. It’s dark functional fashion, like if ACRONYM and Rick Owens had a kid.

ALIVE FORM is a 3D sneaker brand by Tokyo-based Singaporean designer, Ping. Over the last three years, I met a lot of 3D print brands, and most of them were on the entrepreneur side, who thought of 3D printed clothing as a scalable business. Ping, however, is first and foremost an aesthetic designer, and his way of expression just happens to be 3D printing.

THE SUGAR PUNCH is an anime merchandise brand by graphic designer and manga head SUGAR. He’s a mad man who worked in fashion for fifteen years, behind-the-scenes on many big brands. It’s expensive, but the moment you feel it in your hands, you understand that it’s high-end. It’s Visvim quality with anime prints.

I love your analogies.

That’s my second talent.

Last but not least, how do you curate Sabukaru’s Instagram feed?

From the 3 000 Sabukaru posts, I scheduled 99.9% of them. Before we had a scheduling tool, Marta and I uploaded every post by hand. It's a symphony to me. I hear something when I look at the Sabukaru content, and if I have a D, then I know to add an A. I like how unexpected some of the content can be. I believe that losing followers is good. Often, people don't understand or like our posts. People should treat their Instagram accounts like a soup. If you cook a soup and you reduce it, the soup gets better, you know? Community is not always about growth.

♡ Sophia Álvarez ♡

Learning how to stop time with Sophia, somewhere between Paris, New York, and LA.

Text Sarah Yeonkyung Choi

Sophia Álvarez is a young artist working between LA, New York, and Paris, Paris being her preference. You might have seen her grace the ERD runway or your favorite fashion magazine, but you’ve most definitely seen her on the internet. Sophia is the epitome of effortless, iconic cool.

With chunky, layered necklaces cascading down her neck and her hair disheveled into a perfect mess, Sophia hopped on a Zoom call straight out of her uber from LAX. After our interview, one of my colleagues came up to me and asked what Sophia was like in person, saying, “She’s the coolest girl I’ve come across in a long time.” There’s just something about her. A je-ne-sais-quoi.

How did you come to model for ERD?

It was unplanned, and it happened really fast. I personally think that the best things are. My friend, David, who I have been working together for a very long time, became affiliated with the brand through Henri and then contacted me. I was living in New York at the time, and it was a complete accident that I was even in town. We did one shoot together, and when a working relationship is really good, it’s instant chemistry and the rest can't be explained. It just works.

How did it feel to close their Autumn/Winter 24 collection?

Oh, lovely. It was so cold in Paris, and the dress was metal. I was backstage with a hair dryer on the metal, trying to keep it warm. It felt lovely. It was physically heavy. It was probably about 50 pounds or so. I could be wrong, but I want to say that it was 10,000 separate pieces of metal stuck together, reformed. I felt absolutely honored. It was a lot of in and out of the studio, fine-tuning everything and always asking each other’s opinions. It’s a small team and everyone trusts each other there. They've always been so kind and supportive of everything that I do, including work outside of them. I really enjoyed the movement into the couture side for the brand. I think it's doing really well. I'm just happy to be a part of it.

My dream dress, honestly. If you were invited to the MET Gala, is there a dream dress that you have picked out in your mind or a designer you know you would like to work with?

I feel like I’ve thought about a MET Gala dress more than a wedding dress. Of course, I would want to make something custom with ERD—home brand mentality (laughs). Otherwise, the current direction of Margiela is so next-level with its full-on story-building, which is what I'm appreciating the most out of brands right now. It’s like the run-on sentence that isn’t necessary, but takes the full narrative to the end. I’d love to see a Shayne Oliver look at the Met Gala, depending on the theme of course.

How does the creative scene in Paris differ from that of New York or LA?

LA is having a bit of a revival right now. New York has become more commercial despite my younger designer friends being outrageously talented. I started working in LA in the pandemic era, and then moved to New York, but once Enfants Riches Déprimés became a part of my life, I started going to Paris. I think the city hits more of the marks of what I'm interested in aesthetically. I think there is more of a platform in Paris. People are interested in younger designers and artists in general. There’s a great mix between this generation and traditional practice right now. I don't think it happens very often in cities. The art and craft of fashion is still highly respected, slower and more intentional. I find more open dialogue— what defines someone's art when it doesn't easily fall into one lane. You can be multidisciplinary—have your hand in a few different areas and still be consistently a part of the conversation.

Are geographical boundaries becoming less relevant in today's world, thanks to the internet?

I think that there's extreme virtue to being based in one place. I grew up moving around a lot, like 50 places in the other states from random, middle-of-nowhere Texas to Florida. A lot of people have asked me why I move around so much, but I just love collecting information. I feel extremely lucky to be able to travel as much as I do, and my favorite part is acting as a sponge, letting it resonate, and seeing what comes out the other side. I think a lot of people, because of the internet, feel pressure to go to every fashion week, to participate in the Social Olympics, but I don’t subscribe to that. No, you don't need to be based anywhere. However, you do need to be based in the place that allows you to say what you want to say.

How do you stay still and still feel like you’re moving forward?

It’s funny you mentioned that. I would say that’s the hardest obstacle right now. If you grow up nomadic, you over-exercise certain muscles and let others atrophy. You strive to survive and die to adapt. I’m trying to learn how to be still. Sometimes it takes years for certain things to reach understanding. Sometimes they're perfect for the moment. But you just have to find what that means for yourself and follow that. There is nothing more important than finding honesty in your work and being satisfied with yourself. If that means being in Paris every two months, if it means Milan, then cool. Some of my favorite artists live in one city and never leave. Their work is fabulous, and I almost envy them. Oh my god, you're so comfortable just being here, and I think that is so beautiful. I wish I could be like that sometimes.

Are there any artists in particular that influence your work the most?

I have some friends here in LA, like Julien Nguyen. He’s a painter and he’s worked with Loewe and JW Anderson. He stays in LA and paints in his house every single day. That's what he does, that’s his craft. Donna Trope is a photographer who is a mentor of mine. I just spent a month with her, and she taught me so much. She's lovely and to work with, she's crazy genius, and she's been very influential in terms of teaching me artistic integrity and intention. My sister showed me the first fashion show that I ever saw, Jean Paul Gaultier, and it just changed everything. It was a season with Omahyra Mota, and she was the coolest person that I'd ever seen. The other direct influence is dance. I have a very heavy ballet influence, which is where I even learned to touch garments, trying to make my own costumes because it's a very expensive art-sport. It's something that I still just enjoy so much. We just did that gallery installation video at ERD, and being in shoes again was something that I haven’t done in a long time.

Tell me more about the performance video.

I had these shoes. They were from my last performance ever. When I got injured, I was finishing up a series of shows, either La Bayadère or Cinderella. I feel like I’ve blocked that out. I didn’t want to buy another pair, so I wore this pair to death, to the point where the box cut into my foot while I was dancing and there was blood all over the shoe. When I was going through my old stuff, I found them and gave them to Henri to look at. We had been talking about the dance element. I didn’t want to actually dance because I thought it would make it too aesthetically pleasing. There’s a difference between something that I think can resonate with other people and something that is just eye candy. That was one take, 15 minutes. We filmed on a low resolution, home-video-type camera, and I cried during it. It was nice to be able to bring that performance aspect beyond the runway, but also have it be personal and a translation of how I now feel about dance.

I used to dance too, and I was a bit sad when ballet core became a thing, because when you’re a little girl and you see those big girls with their perfect toes, they’re your epitome of beauty.

The fetishization of it or it just being this online aesthetic is so distant from my relationship with dance. Dance is very brutal for me. It’s beautiful in the way it is exhausting. It’s putting yourself through your own personal obstacle course every two seconds, but out of that breeds so much discovery.

Fatigue is a common theme I see in your work. Girls sprawled across the floor, slumped in a chair, resting their heads on each other in the cab…

One of my friends said that a really great image, or a great piece, should cut into time. It should be the in-between, and it should be completely separate from past or present. I’ve always been drawn to imagery that makes you ask more questions than it answers, and also forces you to stop a little bit. Because I do move around so much, when I do have the opportunity to build something in front of me, I want it to feel slower. I also work pretty slow (laughs).

Your work spans modeling, styling, creative direction, performance, and fashion design. Is there a medium that you are most attracted to and why?

I try not to adhere to a specific genre. I have a list of things that I just want to do in life, and they all kind of fall under...the world that I do want to build. There’s so many different things I would love to try. I would love to perform more. I was super uncomfortable being in front of the camera at first, after I had to quit dance. Then I started with sculpture and somehow got thrown into fashion. I don’t really adopt the term stylist, though. I really don’t like it. I’ll use, like, anything to make, like, a look.

So if you would reject the term stylist, is there another word that you would coin?

I don’t reject it, but for the most part, I don’t even really use clothing, or when I do, when I work with certain brands, I’m usually taking a piece and completely turning it into something else. I have features, in Numero for example, where there’s not really clothing for the most part. The dresses were made of Honda and Rolls Royce racing flags. I prefer a shoot where I could use one piece of fabric over and over again and make it look new.

How would you describe your personal style?

It’s a direct reflection of everything that I’m interested in at the time. I love the jewelry side. I was raised Catholic, so religion has a heavy influence on my style. My style in general is picking up pieces from different places I’ve lived, recontextualizing them, and making them my own.

Could you tell us more about the shoot that you directed for Dazed Korea’s July issue?

It’s an ongoing project that Cameron and I have worked on for the past year. We pause whenever our time and worlds overlap to test ideas. Ranging from Paris to dusty American southwestern deserts, these images represent the greatest luxury in community and collaboration. I work consistently with a select few, allowing for our points of interest to transform and steadily build upon themselves. Part of the shoot is going to take place in my room here in LA. It's a very personal space; it's where I get to try, and also fail, and then hopefully succeed. I feel like I need to pay respect to the space that's given me a lot of freedom and that’s always been somewhere I can come back to. I've been saving the idea to shoot in this room, and I’m happy it’s found a home at Korea.

♡ Sasha Gordon ♡

My body is the canvas painted with my thoughts, emotions, and experiences.

Text Sarah Yeonkyung Choi

On a New York Time Saturday morning, Sasha Gordon appeared on my Zoom screen with black rectangular-framed glasses and the biggest, most inviting smile. Although we were meeting for the first time, it felt like I was catching up with an old friend. The first thing she said to me was, “I’ve never been to Korea! What’s the weather like these days?”

Sasha Gordon is a twenty-six-year-old painter from Sommers, New York, currently living and working in Brooklyn. A 2020 RISD graduate, she is now represented by Matthew Brown Gallery, where she paints her feelings out, pouring out onto canvas her experiences growing up as a larger-bodied Asian American woman. In 2022, I saw Sasha Gordon’s work for the first time at Jeffrey Deitch in New York. Her vibrant, hyper-realistic variations of herself in surreal, fever-dream-like compositions left me spellbound. Each detail, down to every individual strand of hair, felt palpable to the point that the hairs on my arm rose up.

I can imagine that presenting yourself as a subject is not easy. Did you initially have reservations or did you feel compelled to do so from the start?

For a while, I didn’t know what I wanted to paint about. I was confused about what style I wanted and what stories I wanted to tell. At first, I was painting solely based off of technique, and then in college, I painted a bathhouse scene. It was very vulnerable because it was the first time that I painted myself nude. I thought it would be more nerve-wrecking, but I felt pretty nonchalant about it.

That’s a bold move.

I was timid at first because not many people in my school were painting themselves naked, but I found it freeing. For me, my likeness serves as a vehicle to express a language that I can’t speak. I get asked all the time, ‘Is this you?’ or ‘Are these your doppelgangers?’ but I see them rather as characters in this world who aren’t complete representations of myself.

In a past interview, you mentioned that even as more and more people connect with your work, you struggle to see yourself as a role model. Is that still the case today?

Yes, it’s really weird. I get recognized maybe once a week, and I find it funny because I’m a painter and not a huge actor or anything. It’s hard for me to take it seriously because even though it is a job, painting still feels like a hobby to me. Painting comes very naturally to me. When I’m painting, I’m on autopilot. I don’t think twice about colors, for instance.

What about composition? Do your scenes come to you all at once, like in a dream, or do they come together gradually, piece by piece?

Sometimes it’s a complete vision or idea that comes to mind. For example, the idea struck me to paint a person made entirely from a sweater material, with her arms bound together. Other times, I have the scene in my head and do some visual research. I’ll look at movies for their compositions and lighting because I want my paintings to have a cinematic quality, as if they were stills taken from a movie. There’s not always a rule to them. Things just have to feel right.

You imagine yourself as a volcano, a cat, a marshmallow, Botticelli’s Venus. Do you think of yourself as a shapeshifter or is there one motif that you identify most with?

Currently, I’m returning to painting flesh. That’s what I’m most attracted to, but my work always reflects what I’m going through and how I’m feeling. I’ve had moments of depersonalization, to go back to the role model thing. People develop parasocial relationships with me, and when I started to get recognized, I felt dehumanized because people saw me more as a figure than as a person. That’s when I painted those anthropomorphic, transformative variations of myself. But I didn’t realize how much I missed painting flesh, and I’m returning to painting naturalistic skin colors in a classical way, rather than neon colors.

Did you have a reason for painting neon skin before?

Yes, at the time, I wanted to show emotion through more than just facial expressions. I wanted the figure to be read indirectly, slowly. To give you an example, there would be a figure with an upset expression, but their skin color would be a calm, pale blue, so you could sense their mixed feelings. I love using color, but I’m currently enjoying going back to my roots, to classical artists like Caravaggio.

Was he your favorite artist growing up?

I think everyone loves Caravaggio [laughs]. My favorite artists are usually contemporary. I love Lisa Yuskavage. I studied abroad in Rome, and being surrounded by so much historical classical art made me crave contemporary art. My colors got more and more neon, and my work, more contemporary-looking. Now that I’ve been doing such contemporary work, I have nostalgia for classicism.

You purposefully clothe your subjects in itchy materials because you want viewers to feel discomfort. What role does clothing play in your work?

Growing up, I felt like a shapeshifter because I was always following trends. When Juicy Couture was popular, I bought 16 tracksuits!

Me too! [laughs] I bought 3.

You too?! [laughs] I was always aware of my body, and I wanted to feel good, but it was a challenge to find clothes that I liked in my size. Because I felt so much discomfort with clothes, when I paint them, I realize how heavy the context is—the brand, the level of femininity or masculinity...I’ve been painting nude figures more and more because I think it shows them in their purest form. Clothing, or the lack thereof, is an expression of comfort and discomfort.

What kind of clothes do you identify with the most and why?

I’m going to shoutout a brand called Tank Air. They’re from Thailand, but based in LA, and while their clothes are casual, they can be dressed up. I also love Gap, and when I splurge, I love a Jean Paul Gaultier mesh top, like the one you are wearing.

I heard! I wore my best Jean Paul Gaultier for you. Back In 2022, I saw your work in the group show ‘Wonder Woman’ at Jeffrey Deitch, curated by Kathy Huang, and exploring the experiences of 30 female Asian American artists. How did it feel to be a part of a show like that?

It was great! I think it was the largest of its kind at that time. I’m friends with Kathy, and she worked very hard on the curation. I didn’t know that many Asian painters growing up, and for most group shows, I’m usually the only Asian artist, so it felt nice to feel free in a space where we are all some type of Asian American. Sometimes my work is directly about my background and identity, and in this context, I felt that I didn’t have to explain myself and that the work didn’t have to be solely about my identity. Recently, it’s been more about the experiences that I've had and how they affect me.

Looking ahead, what changes would you like to see in people’s perceptions towards Asian and Asian American culture?

I always notice that people treat Asian women as disposable or don’t listening to them. I’ll see my mom be mistreated, and I’ve been mistreated by people. People feel like they can say anything to me, and I’d like to see that change.

You’ve done a lot of interviews, but this is your first one that is catered towards a non-English-speaking audience. Is there anything you would like to say to Dazed Korea’s readers?

I’d love to visit Korea! I’m planning on going soon. I think I would make some important paintings after. I still feel very American, so I’d love to learn more. I’d love to go with my mom since she hasn’t been back since the 80s. My brother actually went for the first time recently, and he loved it. He said the food was great!