Influenced by psychology and 90s pop culture, Jackie Hong transforms personal experience into expressive mixed-media art. Visit her website to view more of her work.
“Amanita” mixed media, 8.5″ x 11″
I am a mixed media artist based in Miami, Florida. As a child of Korean immigrants and as a practicing psychiatrist and powerlifter, I am fortunate to have had experienced many different paths in life that have influenced my art.
“Cry” mixed media, 8″ x 10″
I’m heavily inspired by 90’s cartoons, comics, and video games, as well as the study of psychology and philosophy. I enjoy finding new ways to combine these elements in my art, transforming darkness and pain into light and beauty. I use a mixture of traditional and digital media, utilizing mostly pen, marker, and colored pencil.
“Gates of Judgment” mixed media, 5″ x 7″
Though I ultimately decided on medicine as a career, I never stopped making art. Medical training was an especially trying and slightly miserable time in my life. Unfortunately, I witnessed a lot of pain and suffering in my own life as well as in the lives of my colleagues and my patients.
“Self-Portrait” mixed media, 8.5″ x 11″
However, despite the pain (or maybe even because of it), I learned to translate difficult or “unacceptable” feelings into creative works. One of my favorite quotes comes from the psychologist D. W. Winnicott, “Artists are people driven by the tension between the desire to communicate and the desire to hide.”
“Delight to Delirium” mixed media, 8.5″ x 11″
I feel like my art reflects my personal growth over the years. When I was younger, I used to concentrate on making “perfect” characters with bright colors and clean lines. Looking back, I realize that I was longing for my childhood and trying to create my ideal world.
“Mother” mixed media, 8.5″ x 11″
As I got older and experienced grief, love, loss, and betrayal, my art became darker, more surreal, and layered with hidden meanings. Carl Jung famously said, “No tree can grow to heaven unless its roots reach down to hell.” I feel like my current goal with art is to explore this intersection between the light and the dark, the old and the new, and the innocent and the mature.
“Ubermensch” digital art, 8″ x 10″
I am a psychiatrist and powerlifter but have always been an artist first. I’m extremely passionate about art, and have never been interested in just making “pretty pictures.” I believe the purpose of art is to communicate with others and to make sense of ourselves and the world, as difficult as that can be sometimes.
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