Bohye Na

Artist Statement

The traditional Korean house interior is built with semi-transparent panels and windows as walls -- there is no clear division between living rooms and bedrooms. Traditional Korean architecture induces us to form close relationships. A similar cultural intimacy in Korean-American communities continued when my family moved to Houston, Texas, even though Western architecture constructs solid walls that clearly divide one space from another. Eavesdropping Korean neighbors penetrated my bedroom walls, and I penetrated theirs. It was not long before I knew most people's personal secrets. American culture respects personal space, while Koreans embrace close relationships. As a result, a new Korean-American sub-culture was formed that was neither fully Korean nor fully American.

I started to integrate this new understanding of my Korean-American culture into the form and subject of my paintings. I impose figures in rooms where they are physically disconnected yet are capable of forming relationships with what is on the other side of the wall. The figures in my paintings respect separations but embrace the intimacy of connection. My painting is about physical escape from the boundaries that try to suffocate us. It is a beautiful moment when we free ourselves from a constricted reality to claim an unrestrictive self-made identity as an artist.

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