Connie Park

To express the lack of detail and graphics in old video games, airbrushing was the perfect medium. The motion of vandalism when I spray always feels like I am painting walls filled with messy drawings, as I did as a child. This process correlates with the hazy and inaccurate memories I have of my hometown in South Korea. Fully understanding the cultures and traditions of my birth country has always been difficult, leading to a lack of love and yearning for it. New Zealand feels more like home to me, but that does not mean I fully accept it as home. Sitting awkwardly between these lines, I am still unable to decide where I resonate most. My childhood, as a result, felt like a fever dream, and the combination of low-poly game graphics perfectly complements my use of airbrushing.

This work is a personal experience through the chaotic thoughts in my mind. I attempt to stay comfortable in my own bubble by expressing the emotions I experienced throughout my childhood onto canvas. Perspectives are off, and compositions feel unnatural, but this is my interpretation of feeling lost and separated. Despite being stretched miles away from my birth country, I strive to preserve my “own home” by producing art that I hope will resonate with those who also felt lost as children of migration, reflecting how a developing mind is affected by this fragile bubble.

This is my longing to portray my recollections of seeking out the culture and social values of South Korea through the digital screen, while my physical presence remains in Aotearoa.