〈 What's stoping us? 〉 Choi HeeseonIs there a true, perfect standard for beauty? Over the centuries, beauty standards have been modified enormously due to changes in stereotypes within different cultures. Every day people try so hard to fit into the standard of perceived perfection in order to be seen as beautiful and desirable; yet, the standards seem to shift quickly in society, in turn making it nearly impossible for people to catch up with them.

I attempted to illustrate this falsity and elusiveness of “perfect” beauty that often ruins people’s inner beauty, creating artworks that show the fast-changing beauty culture which has shaped society to date. As a female artist surrounded by beauty stereotypes, I wanted to spread the idea that the extent to which one’s appearance matches the false idea of beauty is not what defines us–rather it is the heart and mind that lies within us that makes the true beauty.

Gold medal

〈 The Tree of Nature 〉 Cho, Min-JungAs the human population increased and the industries developed, the cause of human activity in nature has also expanded. However, the causes are mostly negative, destroying the environment for our good. Even a small act of humans affects the whole Earth nowadays. The world is decaying rapidly because of human greediness.

For this project, I first got the idea from the ‘butterfly effect’ because even the actions we think are minor later participate in huge harm to the environment. For example, one plastic we do not recycle remains for over 500 years, and when one waste occurs from millions of people, a mountain of trash is created and never decays for several centuries. Therefore, I made an image of various butterflies, which each represent different human activities, taking off parts of nature to make numerous piles of black wastes. There is a tree in the middle of the artwork, which leaves are consist of natural elements and the treetrunk is replaced with hands.

This tree illustrates that human is supporting and holding on the environment not to corrupt because of their own activities. There are various elements in nature from different areas mixed in one, and there are some red eyeballs between them. The eyes show the tiredness of both nature and humans trying to maintain the environment. The tree seems to be small since it is representing the world, and that is because most of the parts are already taken off. When painting this work, I first applied washes of acrylics on the surface in order to give a sense of light and shade. The light source is the leaves part of the tree, so I tried to give strong and warm light on the surroundings. I then painted the elements in the work, considering the light. I painted the tree to be saturated and vibrant while the background is desaturated and dark so that there is a clear contrast between them. Also, in order to make the contrast more dynamic, I applied modeling paste and gel medium mixed with the paint.

Gold medal

〈 THUNDERSTORM 〉 Arbri VecaniThe painting creates a sea turmoil and depicts the difficulties that humanity is going through in recent years. The table describes a difficult weather phenomenon with the main theme of the uncontrolled reaction of the sea and the ship struggling with the huge waves and the storm. A pyramidal composition is formed in the table. The use of color is intentionally made visible and intense to make the painting and its texture more vivid.

Bronze medal

〈 Absence 〉 Jang, JadeAs we move forward in our lives, we leave someone and meet new people. Making new friends is exciting as we expand the connection and create new memories. However, parting is an inevitable factor in our lives, which is difficult. My eighth sustained investigation piece deals with the theme of absence and memories by applying positive and negative shapes.

The role of positive and negative spaces is significant in this work, as they distinguish the people who left and the ones that stayed. Different pictures inside the negative spaces of the black and white paper indicate the memories people have made before they leave. Unlike the represented figures, papers that indicate memory are saturated to state that remembrance stays eternal. In particular, there is a figure and its reflection created by two perpendicular mirrors. Each reflection contains different colors and textures to state that a person leaves various memories to the world. Also, the reflection comprises colorful feathers of the birds. Birds use their wings to adventure the world and reach their destination, so I thought this is similar to people. Therefore, in the painting, the bird symbolizes the progress that results in departure.

I started the piece by gathering photographs of one or two people. I then tore the printed images in the shape of figures. I collaged the prints and drew them on the canvas using acrylic paint. To append various line qualities, I emphasized the contours of white strains of the torn papers. In the end, I juxtaposed the owl on the background scenery of a sea to create a surreal and eerie mood in the artwork.

Gold medal

〈 Daydream 〉 Jeon YoohyunThe balance of the food chain has been destroyed by humans through interventions such as overfishing, mass catch, and predation. Those are intended to satisfy humans’ hunger as well as their visual needs. Betta fish, for example, are noted for their colorfulness and humans overfish them to satisfy their visual stimulation. Hence within the artwork, I tried to depict a change in the position of the food chain system where fishes are superior to humans, showing fishes’ daydreams. Betta fish are portrayed to be big and colorful while humans are illustrated to be small. These two main objects contrast with one another in terms of color, shape, and size. The fish has been colored with a variety of colors while humans have been colored only as black and white. Also, fish have been drawn in larger sizes than humans to again emphasize the supremacy of fishes. I reflected on how humans are constantly craving to fulfill their greed beyond their necessities. Just like betta fishes, other animals are sacrificed to fulfill people’s visual desires or show their wealth. Thus, this artwork depicts the sadness that animals are facing and increases the awareness of destruction by humans.

Gold medal

〈 Cock 〉 Kim, MinjiMemories are often affected to differ from their original form. “Cock” portrays the traumatic feeling I sensed for roosters by exaggerating the texture of the cockscomb, almost disgustingly in detail. The contrast caused by the black background obscures the figure, expressing my fear when I first faced a rooster.

Gold medal

〈 Floating Disaster 〉 Park, Adrian어느 날, 지구의 해수면이 육지들을 덮기 시작했다. 국가들은 비상사태에 빠졌으며 서둘러 국가 자체를 봉쇄하여 물이 차오르는 것을 막으려 했다. 봉쇄에 성공한 국가들은 해수면 위를 떠다니는 튜브 신세가 된다. 이 와중에 서로의 영토를 더 차지하겠다고 전쟁을 시작하는 국가들도 있었다. 이제 국가 간에 외교활동은 모두 전면중지 되었다.

해수면 상승으로 국가가 떠다니는 신세가 되보면 어떨까 해서 만든 작품이다. 국가 간의 신뢰와 사익을 챙기려는 욕심, 그리고 참담한 미래가 현실이 되지 않도록 경고하고 싶어서 만들었다.

Silver medal

〈 A SCREAMING TREE 〉 Shin,Hajin이 작품은 전기 사용 과다로 인한 환경오염에 대한 것이다.

3D재료로 철사,전선,점토를 사용 했고, 다른 재료로는 펜, 수채화, 아크릴, 색연필, 파스텔 등을 사용했다. 전류 과다 사용으로 환경에 악영향을 끼치는 메시지를 전하고자 했다. 배경으로 많은 송전탑을 그렸고, 중앙에는 철사로 만든 송전탑과 점토로 만든 나무를 붙였다. 중앙 송전탑을 철사로 만든 데에는 특별한 이유가 있다. 배경에 송전탑이 있지만 입체적인 모습도 보여주기 위해서, 그리고 그림으로 표현할 수 없는 망가지는 모습을 보여줄 수 있기 때문이다. 점토로 만든 나무는 아크릴로 색칠하여 상태가 안 좋은 모습을 강조했고, 나무에 얼굴을 만들어서 전선과 환경오염 때문에 죽어가는 나무의 모습을 표정으로 표현했다. 그리고 나무에 철사를 감아 붙여서, 전선과 송전탑에 속박된 모습을 보여주려고 했다.

또, 공사장에서 주워온 전선을 나무에 감아서 나무들이 고통스러워하며 죽어가는 느낌을 더 강조했다. 오늘날 송전탑을 주로 나무가 많은 숲에 설치하는데, 이것은 나무를 죽이고 괴롭히는 일이다.

전기 사용 과다로 인한 환경오염의 심각성을 이 작품을 통해서 알리고 싶었다.

Silver medal

〈 Heartache 〉 Lee, Hael[Heartache] is an oil painting that portrays the different emotions one can feel in a phase of downfall and pain. When people experience a hurtful experience, oftentimes they express their pain by labeling their soreness as a “heartache”. Likewise, people’s hearts often work as indications that reveal the truth behind their emotions. Pains can come in various feelings and depth, causing people to undergo and discover new emotions. This piece captures the various types and levels of pain one can feel in the process of heartaches.

Silver medal

〈 Flowers That Bring Back the Memory 〉 Wynne Jooeun LeeRight before coming to Japan, I used to live in South Korea. As I got used to living in Japan, I missed Korea at the same time. Therefore, I looked through several photos that I took in Korea and the photo of flowers (the ones shown in my painting) caught my attention. It was because they had a pretty shape and eye-catching colors. What made that photo even more meaningful to me is that it was taken near my house. Therefore, I thought expressing that photo as a painting would help me not only to improve my art skills, but also to feel the same joy I felt back then. In order to paint this, I used many different and vivid colors to emphasize how that photo was simple yet pretty.

Bronze medal

〈 Clothes For All 〉 Cho, Kristen YoonseoFashion is fascinating. It does not take the 2006 film Devil Wears Prada for one to be intrigued by the fascinating, yet mysterious world of fashion and want to make a career in the industry. In communicating and appealing to our own unique style, a fashion designer can take inspiration not only from fashion but from music, literature, and art at large.

Within the space of a square frame, the one thing that I wanted to convey was a dream of my future as a designer. The dream is not just for me but for everyone who desires to wear their favorite clothes. Clothes are not simply a type of accessory that we put on in order to flaunt or show off their monetary value. Instead, it is a way of expressing and introducing oneself to people around us. For instance, the clothes that one wears portray his/her personality, preferences, and interests. Thus, through my artwork, I wanted to show the process of making the clothes to whoever is watching the artwork. It can be you, someone next to you, or anyone. The concept of “Clothes For All” was to convey the idea that my dream is to literally design personalized clothes for everyone and I hope I can achieve all my dreams of mine in the future after following athe path of a fashion designer.

Gold medal

〈 Biographical Bookcase 〉 Seoyoung BaeThis was inspired by classic Korean artworks called "chaekgori," where it is a horizontal canvas with bookshelves filled with various things. In this case, the subjects are all related to me and my personal interests, compiled together to create a visually aesthetic piece. I included both things that relate to me and my culture, being Korean, through a mix of modern and traditional items.

Gold medal

〈 Trivial fear 〉 Lee DawonThe artwork is a painting of fallen ice cream. The intention of this artwork is to reveal the fear that comes from trivial things. The object, ice cream symbolizes innocence and the trivial events that happen in our life and the fallen ice cream creates the feeling of uneasiness and forebodingness. By provoking the empathetic feelings of the audience, the artwork reminds one's own personal trivial fear and makes the audience reflect back on their life.

Gold medal

〈 I Sea 〉 Clare NamThis artwork contains an imaginary orbit that I have created myself. The main element which is the solar system is holding unusual objects all together which represents me as a person in an unusual and surrealistic way.

Gold medal

〈 The moment 〉 Royoon ParkThe moment when everything started, The moment when two people are connected for the first time.

Gold medal

〈 Labyrinth of Life (삶의 미로) 〉 Nam, You RimAfter watching a short video clip of a child of the age of 11 from Ukraine who had to cross the Polish border without his parents due to the war that started with Russia, I was heavily inspired by the emotional difficulties and the sense of being lost that one may feel during this crisis, or in general any difficulties one may come across in life. Life is like a labyrinth as we never know what lies in front of us, whether it be an obstacle or success.

Gold medal

〈 Clickable Girl 〉 Hayley Jo어느 순간 스마트폰 그 사각형 화면 안 회로들이 나를 그 누구보다 잘 알고 있다는 것을 깨달았습니다. 나조차도 모르는 취향으로 이루어진 실체 없는 세상. 나를 완벽하게 분석해낸 인터넷에 어느새 스스로가 녹아들어 하나가 된 듯한 착각의 관점을 담아낸 그림입니다.

Gold medal

〈 inside-out 〉 Choi, AndrewVarious items we see and use in our daily lives are shown in this artwork. I used common items because we all use and appreciate the usefulness of these objects, however, we all had the curiosity about how these things work. We start to observe once we are curious about something. The smooth, yet complex texture of each object shows high precision and detailed elements of the interior of these objects.

Bronze medal

〈 A Thief's End 〉 Rhee Hyun Bin자유를 찾던 해적이 죽었다. 그가 찾던 자유는 무엇이고 과연 그 자유를 찾다 죽은 것이 그만한 가치가 있었을까.

Gold medal

〈 The Fifth Dimension 〉 Woo Jin여태 까지 인류가 만들어낸 것, 또 앞으로 실현될 수 있는 발전의 무궁무진함을 5 차원의 세계에 그려 넣어 보았다.

Silver medal

〈 No more attention please? 〉 YoonShin KohThe eyes in the painting symbolize the gazes of society which starts the moment we are born. People come close to the baby to stare with adoration. Then there comes a moment in life when people glare, gape, and even ogle at us. These may be directed at our physicality, our abilities, or our status. We might become an object of envy or an object of detest depending on how we interact with this world. We might become an object of mockery or a topic of interest as well. These stares are sometimes threatening and sometimes inspiring. Although I am still young, I have suffered from these gazes in the society I live in, and I have enjoyed the respectful adorations as well. No one knows whether I will continue to suffer, dwell in content, or stop caring altogether for these gazes in the future. I want to leave that question unanswered and wait for the prospect. I also want to leave that question unanswered and leave it to the viewers of this painting to interpret freely. The person who sees this may think that the person in this painting is being eaten by those eyes or may think that she is abandoning the gaze. The interpretation is in the eye of the beholder.

Gold medal

〈 Gray Human_in-between good and evil 〉 Im, Seo BinThis artwork would like to explain the contradiction between the criteria and people’s dichotomous notions of good and wickedness. First, on the left lower, a black man is surrounded by several people including the crying man who has suffered from him, however, the people whose eyes are blinded seem to like to punish the black human rather than comforting the crying person. In this point, it makes us think back on our tendency that focus on the perpetrator’s individual stories rather than the sentiment of the victim. Second, the fact that the childlike of the individual could be destroyed is described by the higher right and left. In the case of the right, a girl is tearing herself to get rid of her innocence regardless of her good and bad aspects. Almost adults often ignore the innocence of their childhood to survive in the communities during which they grow up from adolescents to adults especially in the school, the army, and even the workplaces. But, I depicted three girls in school uniforms, meaning that even if they wear secretly forced clothes in a place where they value group identity rather than individual values such as the school or military place, their identities cannot be lost but covered even if such these groups force them to do what might be good or bad.

Bronze medal

〈 Imaginative 〉 Jang, ChaelyungRepetitious daily routines and the invisible social standards set by the rest of the world are not only tiring but also bind us in a rigid “frame.” My room serves as a shelter where I can focus on myself, unbound by the frame. During this time of relaxation, the fictitious props like trees, clouds, and animals fill my room and add a sense of peace and comfort, repelling the oppressive reach of the frame.

Silver medal

〈 Under the sea? 〉 Cho, YeshinI was inspired by the song “Under the sea”. The song shows the human world’s reality; working all day, and be slave for other people. Also the song talks about how the world they are living is peaceful, and safe. Eventually, the song ends with staying under the sea, not going out from the sea. The girl inside the sea represents Ariel, who tries to stay under the sea, afraid of challenging new things. We face lots of hard things in our life. Sometimes we do not want to try because we are afraid of failing. However, we should face hard tasks and challenge new things, and be fearless.

Bronze medal

〈 new life 〉 Baak MonaThere is a saying in Korea “When a child is born, the whole village raises it” It can be said that a child (new life) requires a lot of attention and a lot of care. The birth of a new life is the noblest thing above all, and it brings joy not only to the child's parents and family, but to the whole village and the whole world. The world is already too polluted for the innocent new life that knows nothing. Unfortunately, it is impossible to pinpoint anyone to blame, but what is certain is that all adults in this world have the duty and responsibility to protect new lives in this world, whether they had wasted water or not. The sparrow and jupiter, which means protection, are what new life needs

Bronze medal

〈 “is this really happiness?” 〉 Seoyeon Yang"My inner struggle regarding whether escapism is happiness" 나의 행복은 내가 좋아하는 아름답고 편안하고 달콤한 것이 함께 어울려 나의 행복을 완성한다고 생각하며 자랐다. 하지만 나의 내면에서는 그것에서 벗어나려는 갈망도 느껴진다. 알 수 없는 미래, 단정할 수 없는 성공이지만 미래에 대한 희망 가득한 무한한 가능성을 꿈꾸며 좋아하고 편한 것들로 부터 벗어나고자 하는 나의 내적 갈등을 표현하였다.

Silver medal

〈 Sleepless purple 〉 YANG EUGENEThis painting portrays a place where hope coexists in a gloomy purple background that symbolizes insomnia. A girl is imagining a place where she can rest her mind, which is expressed through bright pastel colours. She is struggling to sleep and trying to count the sheep. In the background, the text tells a story about this girl missing her childhood where she could lay on her grandmother’s lap and drift off to sleep carefree. The symmetry of innocence and melancholy was achieved with purple and pastel colours.

Bronze medal

〈 My Universe of Dimension 〉 Kim, Yumin여러가지 크기와 모양의 구들은 각기 다른 색깔의 하늘을 통해 내가 마주하는 순간의 시간을 나타낸다. 그리고 그 시간들이 떠다니는 공간의 나 자신의 추억이 담겨있는 4차원, 그 이상의 공간이다. 목탄과 색연필에 실제 사진을 붙임으로서 각기 다른 차원들을 표현하였다.

Silver medal

〈 Untitle 〉 Ashley Park

Silver medal

〈 Untitle 〉 Lauren Soyoung Choi

Bronze medal