Floating Island

J Roh

12 – 23 February 2019

We live in a complex society where diverse cultures and communities are mixed. Our modern living environment requires us to have multiple identities, often by our own choices. 

J Roh (Jung yun, Roh) was born in Seoul in South Korea in 1976. Throughout her life, J Roh has always been fascinated by the dynamic cultural changes of her living space. The interest was further developed when she moved to London in 2010. Since she moved from the eastern to western society, she realised that the true nature of existence is the same, but the identity can be changed based on different socio-political circumstances.

Her major subject areas are questioning the standardised social categories and the power structures of multiple identities. Her viewpoint is not about finding ‘who am I?’ and ‘where do I belong?', rather she tries to articulate how pre-existed power structures and typical social standards dominate an individual's real life. Repetitive walking and drawing are her primary methodologies to explore the subject issues. She argues that the identity is choosing; exploring ambiguous, blurred identity between binary categories.

Based on the personal experience, J Roh captures the evolution and development of the spaces and places around her. Her previous solo exhibition entitled ‘Freshly made in the street' (2018) was a visual Venn diagram, presenting the artist's three different identities – a manual labourer, artist and immigrant. All three identities are very different but they co-exist.

The current exhibition is the development of her previous solo show at the Willesden Gallery. ‘Floating Island’ consists of abstract drawings created on a daily basis since March 2018. The show also includes sound that deals with issues based on J Roh living experiences in London. It aims to represent the uncertainty of the present circumstances of the UK.

The artist

J Roh graduated from Hong Ik University with B.F.A and M.F.A, South Korea, and also graduated from Chelsea College of Art with MA in 2011. She is currently a Ph.D. candidate in the Fine Art department at Reading University, UK.

For more information on J Roh's work visit her Instagram Jroh2010 and Facebook jrohdrawings.