“Lutalica: an unraveling piece of you that you never found a home” By Joy Yoon.
On April 2, five exhibitions were held on West Campus to honor Azusa Pacific University arts major graduates of Spring 2024: Hannah Bolat, Dirty Laundry (a group representation), Riley Sumaquial, Rebecca Ward and Joy Yoon.
The Lutalica exhibition is located in the Duke Gallery on West Campus. Inside the room, different paintings by APU students were displayed, and a veil linked them all together.
When I arrived at the exhibition, I met with Joy Yoon, a senior fine arts major who’s graduating this spring.
In Yoon’s Artist Statement, she shares that each person drawn on the canvas is an individual involved in Korean culture. She categorizes the Korean group into four categories — Korean international, Korean American, TCK (Third Culture Children Korean) and half-Korean.
Yoon’s statement explains that “as someone who didn’t grow up in Korea, I was always confused about my identity when defining myself as a ‘true Korean’.” It also further explains the meaning of the fabric drawn in the paintings, conveys the sense of our outer appearance and describes who we are in society.
Lastly in the statement, Yoon wants the viewer’s graph from this exhibition to think deeply about our identity and recognize identity as not a set form but a malleable substance we apply to our lives. She encourages us to call out and have meaningful conversations about our identity and embrace personality beyond what others deem true.
One painting that caught my attention was this vibrant red painting of a woman with a veil covering her. Her charming eyes lure the viewers, and her facial expression convinced me to concentrate on this painting to understand its meaning entirely.
I specifically asked Yoon the meaning behind this painting, and Yoon replied,
“The subject of this painting is Heidi Park, a Korean American. During the interview with her, I felt confident in her identity coming from observations of her surroundings. Her gaze and her relationship with Korea are reflected in the painting. The choice to put the red veil over her symbolizes her complete embracement of her identity without a doubt.”
During my interview with Yoon, I learned more about the meaning of each drawing and what it’s trying to convey to the viewers. It was a significant time during my attendance at the exhibition. When you enter the room, there is a fabric designed like a dressing room in the center of the exhibition where you can mimic the poses of the subjects in the art pieces.
If you’re at West Campus, look out for four more art exhibitions Also, when you carefully look around West Campus, you will see four other amazing art exhibitions done by other senior art majors. Don’t miss out on the majestic and creative drawings on display until May 3, 2024.
