When I did my very first solo show in 2022, the gallery owner said this was his favorite work, and a couple of people bought prints of it. I wanted to share my thoughts because my work finally saw the light of the day, but I could only give them a brief explanation.
This time, I’m imagining that I’m welcoming you to my exhibition, and I like to thoroughly tell you how I enjoyed drawing “The Mask”.
This work is packed with my love for fashion, mix-and-match drawing mediums, and my lifelong friend of a plush white bear.
The black mask with rabbit ears was inspired by the Dior haute couture collection from spring 2018. I love the dreamy world of the haute couture collection so I have a routine to browse brands in the Vougue app. I immediately fell in love with the mask when I saw it. The delicateness of the material, I think it’s tulle, inspired me to draw it with pastel. I layered the black pastel to create a mesh-like texture of the tulle and smudged the edge to create lightness. And for some reason, I gave it a rabbit ear.
Runway collections are eclectic. The clothes, the venue, and the music create the ambiance. Its outrageousness gave me a flood of ideas about what art materials to use to create my interpretation. I draw landscapes and still lifes but fashion inspires me the most about mix-and-match drawing mediums, and makes me playful and free, so I love drawing fashion.
A white bear is an actual plush toy and he has been with me since I was 9 or 10 years old and now he is my signature motif of my drawings. He looks like enjoying being a slightly different version of himself wearing the mask. I think this is the magic of fashion, you get to uplift your mood or even enjoy being a different persona. To write this, I went back and looked into the Dior show and found out that the show is inspired by a surrealist artist, Leonor Fini who used “extravagant headdresses to “produce” her identity”(1). I was happy to find a similarity in the theme.
People have been dressing up Teddy bears since… very long time ago, and I think it is even a common culture, but it took me great courage to draw my bear and put him in the clothes of my dream. I think it is because I finally became honest about what I love. I became honest that I wasn’t really interested in grand historical subjects nor fit within the context of contemporary art. It’s a cliché, but it takes real courage to be honest with yourself and live it. But now, I’m having the most fun drawing and my dream come true on paper. When I’m drawing, I’m dwelling on what I love, time flows slowly and gently. I love the time to appreciate dreams.
Thank you for not only checking out my work but reading about it. I’m really happy that I let it all out of my head and shared it with you. I’d love to explain it in person next time.
(1)Mower, S. (2018, January 22). Christian Dior spring 2018 couture collection. Vogue. https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/spring-2018-couture/christian-dior
