In this series of paintings, South Korean artist Shin-Young An creates exquisite portraits on a very distinctive canvas. The artist's painted images of women's faces overlap with text and images from daily newspapers. The selected canvas is An's attempt to emotionally process and contemplate worldly events in combination with her fine art. Using current articles as her foundation, layers of paint form the faces that emerge out of printed stories and photographs. She says the main theme of her work is “exploring the unfortunate reality of our present world.”
As an artist, An says she began to feel powerless in a world filled with so many social and environmental issues. In reaction to those feelings of helplessness, she began to use her art to make sense of her emotions. The natural beauty of her feminie subjects is evident, even as the text and photos blend into the ghostly figures. Currently based in New Jersey, the young artist says, “I seek to find the truth in the human form and to translate that into my own vision of natural beauty.”