[Interview] Media artist who reassembling dreams with 3D characters.
“I’ve done a lot and I have a lot I want to do. Since my major was in fashion, I had to engage in that industry, but I also had a lot of interest in the world of art and music. However, I can’t do everything alone, so I created virtual characters. They are the subjects that reflect my dreams and desires.”
Park So-hee (25), the artist, is an infinitely scalable creator who has transformed each of her curiosities into concrete achievements, while actively engaging in the fashion industry after majoring in fashion design. She has developed her interest in combining fashion design with the metaverse into a content startup or challenged herself to create music albums through virtual characters because of her interest in digital music. NFT art, which expresses an infinite world of imagination, is also a page of her passion. These are challenging undertakings that are somewhat burdensome alone, so the virtual characters created by artist Park So-hee are her digital persona.
|Digital twin and multiple egos
To understand the artist’s art world, it is necessary to first understand her characters. Her hobby is “imagination,” which she has cultivated since she was very young. “If other people think about ‘what they did today’ before they go to bed, I imagine myself in a different universe when I wake up,” she said. This is why she is often seen by acquaintances as an extraordinary and quirky person.
The power of such imagination has not easily dissipated. Vigorous curiosity and imagination have become the driving force for creation and expression, accumulating as the artist’s artistic assets. The virtual character ‘So-hee,’ created when she graduated from university in 2019, is evidence of this. The character ‘So-hee,’ named after herself, is the artist’s ‘virtual avatar’ that only operates in the virtual world.
“I was more focused on external activities than studying when I was in school. As a result, I had a wide range of experiences and there were a lot of things I wanted to do. Should I say that I am greedy? (laughs) I wanted to create a virtual character that embodies all my desires and let it engage in activities.”
As the character was created solely to embody the identity of the artist, who works as a freelance designer in the fashion industry, it mainly appears in collaboration projects with fashion brands. In fact, the artist’s fashion projects, such as the ‘LIE Collection’ and ‘Holy Number Seven’ sponsorship images, are also notable for her collaborations.
| ‘777’, a character containing a foundmental imagination of Park
The character ‘777’ embodies the author’s original imagination, while ‘Sohee’ is a character responsible for somewhat commercial aspects. ‘777,’ which was produced the following year, emphasizes a more artistic aspect. This character conveys the author’s long-held stories of existence, birth, and extinction. Park So-hee, the author, explained that she “liked cosmic stories since she was a child and enjoyed various imaginations about the soul” and that “this imagination was implemented through the character ‘777,’ which served as a channel to tell stories based on imagination.” As a product of imagination, its appearance is not ordinary. Its long neck like a giraffe symbolizes the author’s curiosity, stretching its head to look at anything.
The ‘BABY PLANET,’ which was unveiled at the <Art in Metaverse> exhibition held in Seongsu-dong ‘Understand Avenue’ until May 31, is the first work that introduces the ‘777’ character to the world. It is a visualizing video that greets with a smile against the background of its planet, serving as an introduction content for the newly created character, as well as a teaser content for the epic narrative that will unfold through this character in the future. When the <Art in Metaverse> exhibition ended in May of this year, a video work showing the actual activities of the character was also released, attracting attention. The work titled ‘777 adventure’ portrays the character as transporting the soul to Earth when it is born. Park, the author, said, “777 is set up as an angel who is involved in life and birth,” and “through more exhibitions and works in the future, we will be able to see mysterious appearances of 777 in action.”
As the <Art in Metaverse> exhibition came to a close in May of this year, a video work showcasing the character’s actual activities was also released, garnering attention. The work titled ‘777 adventure’ depicts the character as a “guardian angel involved in life and birth” who transports a newly born soul and throws it onto Earth. Park, the artist, stated, “777 is a mysterious figure who will continue to be active through more exhibitions and works.”
|Empathy and interest are her strengths… “I want to continue with simple and creative work.”
Park So-hee, who has only had her identity as an artist for just three years, has already presented more than twenty works to the world, with her art centered around “So-hee” and “777” characters. Her character artwork is both her driving force and secret to success. Her worldview is still expanding. Through her newest character, “Kiho,” which was born last year, she plans to expand into the music industry. Kiho’s character is none other than a virtual world “singer-songwriter.” She is currently working on an album with an underground vocalist who has recognized her abilities.
The startup that Park personally founded earlier this year is another catalyst that broadens the artist’s perspective. Through the task of digitizing fashion brand products or converting them to fit each Metaverse platform format, they are directly experimenting with the endless possibilities of digital content. A series of activities that lead to industry, art, and entrepreneurship create a virtuous circle that stimulates the artist’s passion and imagination, providing momentum for each other. It is like how the technology mainly handled in the industry and entrepreneurship fields, such as 3D modeling and motion capture, was transferred to the art field through characters. Park So-hee, the artist, plans to actively challenge more daring and interesting expressions centered around the characters she currently holds. If more characters are added through the artist’s hands in the future, it could be a signal that her passion has been further fueled. The artistic world she draws is becoming more abundant in that way.
“I don’t think I’m the type to create results through deep philosophy and reflection. I’m not inclined to twist things in a complicated way. I just want to do fresh and interesting work. I want to continue to work as an artist who creates simple and clear, yet original and fun visuals.”
