Choe Sooryeon (b. 1986) observes the aspects of so-called "Oriental-style" imagery and how it is consumed, reflecting these observations in her paintings. To do so, she collects traditional cliché images shared across Northeast Asia from classic Korean and Chinese films. Based on these images, her paintings reveal themes of sorrow, femininity, disconnection from reality, inner Orientalism, doubt, ignorance, and absurdity.

The artist's interest in classical Eastern imagery stems from her awareness that her generation’s uncritical perception of so-called "Oriental-style" or "Orientalist images" is not so different from the Western gaze. Choe reflects on the background of this phenomenon, closely examining the transformations, distortions, and repetitions that occur as these images are reproduced in contemporary contexts. Through this process, she aims to confront the present reality.

Starting in 2013 with paintings of eerie mannequins dressed in traditional attire, she has since depicted scenes from shamanistic rituals, Korea’s new religious movements, historical dramas, and traditional ceremonies—images that are somewhat strange or comical yet possess a certain archaic aesthetic. Among the traditional images consumed in modern events and media, she selects those that are not concrete representations but rather consumed purely as an atmosphere, using them as the subjects of her work.

Choe Sooryeon collects low-resolution images captured from photographs or videos taken by others. She then removes certain unnecessary elements and transfers them onto the canvas with minimal alteration. The images in her paintings appear ambiguous, characterized by translucent brushstrokes and the coarse texture of the canvas, emphasizing the painterly qualities of her work.

The artist remains committed to traditional painting materials. She personally prepares her canvases by treating linen or hemp with animal glue, creating a surface suited to her practice. Using oil paint mixed with a high proportion of medium to enhance transparency, she works quickly in a single layer without revisions or overlaps. 

As a final step, she applies oil over the painting, a process that causes the brushstrokes to blur and partially erase, leaving behind faint, hazy marks across the surface. These traces play a crucial role in reducing the illusionistic quality of the image, emphasizing the materiality of the painting.

Choe Sooryeon’s ‘Seonnyeo (Celestial Maiden)’ series, which began in 2017, is an extension of her 2013 mannequin painting Eight Seonnyeos (Celestial Maidens). In her earlier work, the mannequins were arbitrarily named based on the colors of their garments, with titles such as "Sea King" (龍王) or "Jade Emperor" (玉皇上帝), while the female mannequins were labeled as “Seonnyeo” (celestial maidens). 

In East Asian cultural contexts, Seonnyeo is often imagined as a young, beautiful woman dressed in flowing traditional garments. However, in this series, the artist moves away from such idealized depictions and instead portrays Seonnyeo as a real, tangible person.

In this series, the artist primarily depicts ordinary middle-aged Korean women dressed as Seonnyeo for local festivals and events, focusing on those with bored or somber expressions. These celestial maidens, with their strikingly unremarkable faces, subvert conventional expectations, evoking a sense of estrangement and peculiarity. 

Just as Seonnyeo often play supporting roles in classical narratives, they continue to serve a secondary function in contemporary events, appearing as decorative figures while men perform the main rituals. Acknowledging this dynamic, the artist reinterprets the image of Seonnyeo—not as an ornament created for someone else's purpose, but as an ordinary person with an individual presence.

In contrast to the ‘Seonnyeo’ series, which portrays real individuals, her ‘Carefree women’ series, begun in 2019, depicts fictional female characters from films and dramas. The imagery in ‘Carefree women’ is largely based on the sorrowful female figures frequently seen in Chinese films and television dramas from the 1980s and 1990s.

Regarding this series, Choe notes that it emerged from her ambivalence toward the consumption of "Oriental-style beautiful women" imagery, including Seonnyeo. While she critically examines the way such images are consumed, she also confronts her own contradictory desire to paint these familiar clichés.

Choe Sooryeon also collected lines about ghosts from Taoist and supernatural films popular in China and Hong Kong during the 1980s and 1990s, particularly those in which ghosts speak as direct narrators or interlocutors. Unlike the nostalgic and idyllic imagery often associated with the past, these lines reflect a worldview rooted in moral retribution, tinged with pessimism and tragedy.

The artist sees these archaic phrases—though seemingly obsolete—as still loosely or intimately connected to the absurdities of contemporary reality. Since she is not fluent in Chinese characters, she specifically selected scenes where English subtitles were provided, even retaining awkward translations when they appeared. Additionally, she sometimes added phonetic annotations to certain Chinese characters in her works, reflecting the linguistic environment of her generation.

In addition, Choe Sooryeon created a transcription series tailored for a generation more familiar with Hangul than Chinese characters. While translating and comparing texts collected from classical folklore and films, she incorporated gestures of "studying" into her work—akin to a beginner refining their strokes in traditional calligraphy or painting practice. 

Unlike conventional transcription, which typically involves practicing beautiful and uplifting phrases, her ‘Sutra Copying for the Hangul Generation’ series features phrases and narratives that deviate from the moralistic worldview of traditional folklore and films. She treats large pieces of muslin cloth as oversized calligraphy paper, writing, striking through, and refining the text with a light and experimental approach—subverting the disciplined attitude typically associated with traditional calligraphy practice.

These transcription works were also created in the format of propaganda posters. Choe aimed to blend the practical aspect of propaganda, which conveys specific messages and narratives, with the familiar aesthetic pleasure derived from Oriental clichés.

To evoke the inherent lightness of this content, the artist chose formats such as tearable flyers, retro-style slogan posters, and advertising banners (or drawings intended for their design).

Choe Sooryeon’s recent work Jiang Jin’e’s Unfortunate Reincarnation and Zhao Xin’s Queue (2024) is a large-scale piece that combines transcription and painting based on classical folklore. In this work, the artist adopts the format of Islamic illustration art, where text and image maintain their own distinct realms. The canvas is structured with the text translated outside the frame, differing from her previous works. 

As can be inferred from the title, this work connects two different folktales as though they form a single narrative. Rather than treating each story separately, the artist chose to bring together tales with a similarly overwhelming sense of despair, thus revealing an aspect of incomprehensible tragedy itself. The images drawn alongside these stories were selected as clichéd scenes that could serve as the background for any narrative.

In this way, Choe Sooryeon has continued to recontextualize the myths, legends, ghost stories, and folktales of Northeast Asia, which carry the absurdity and sorrow of reality, beginning with a critical exploration of the reproduction and consumption of ‘oriental’ imagery. Her work may seem to address something classical and traditional, that is, from the 'past', but the artist examines the surrounding contemporary context, depicting the sorrow, doubt, absurdity, and ignorance inherent in her generation and our society today.

"There are so many things in the world that are unknown, and particularly things that seem unbelievable, but are too common to ignore. 'How should we view this?' is the main question in my work." (Choe Sooryeon, BE(ATTITUDE) Interview)

Choe Sooryeon majored in painting at Hongik University and earned a master’s degree in Western painting from Seoul National University. Her recent major solo exhibitions include 《Hoe for painted and Hwa for painting》 (Gallery Chosun, Seoul, 2023), 《Drawing in the Fog》 (Sansumunhwa, Seoul, 2020), 《Pictures for Use and Pleasure》 (Incheon Art Platform, Incheon, 2020), 《Music from a decaying country》 (Cheongju Art Studio, Cheongju, 2019), and more. She also participated in two-person show 《Bead & Orchid》 (Chamber, Seoul, 2024).

Choe has also participated in numerous group exhibitions at institutions such as Gallery Chosun, Gyeonggi Museum of Modern Art, ARKO Art Center, Museumhead, ThisWeekendRoom, Seoul Museum of Art, HITE Collection, Insa Art Space, and Art Space Pool. She has been part of residency programs at Studio Whiteblock (Cheonan, 2022-24), Incheon Art Platform (Incheon, 2020-2021), Factory of Contemporary Arts in Palbok (Jeonju, 2019), and Cheongju Art Studio (Cheongju, 2018).

She received the 2020 Chongkundang Yesuljisang, and her works are currently housed in the collections of the Seoul Museum of Art, Seoul National University Museum of Art, and the MMCA Art Bank.

References

• 최수련, Choe Sooryeon (Artist Website)
• 인천문화통신 3.0, 최수련 인터뷰, 2020.07.22 (IFACNEWS 3.0, Choe Sooryeon Interview, 2020.07.22)
• 인천아트플랫폼, 최수련 (Incheon Art Platform, Choe Sooryeon)
• 인천아트플랫폼, 2020 창제작 발표 프로젝트 3. 최수련 개인전, 《Pictures for Use and Pleasure》 (Incheon Art Platform, Project Support Program 2020 3. Choe Sooryeon Solo Exhibition, 《Pictures for Use and Pleasure》)
• 갤러리조선, ‘한글세대를 위한 필사’ 연작 (Gallery Chosun, ‘Sutra Copying for the Hangul Generation’ series)
• 비애티튜드, 무용한 고군분투 혹은 지극한 사랑