Based in New York, Stickymonger is a Korea-born artist whose work has the ability to transport viewers to dark, surreal worlds. At first glance, her large-scale, black-and-white murals look like ink illustrations, but, in fact, Stickymonger’s murals are actually constructed by cut pieces of vinyl, which she sticks onto gallery walls piece by piece. Her works depict gloomy scenes where young, doe-eyed girls appear to be melting into black puddles, stuck in jars of jam, or drowning in cascades of their own hair.
韩国艺术家Stickymonger目前生活在纽约，她的作品有一种带领观众进入黑暗、超现实的世界的魔力。乍一看，巨幅的黑白壁画像是用油墨绘画而成的插画，但事实上，Stickymonger的壁画是用剪切好的乙烯基，一片片贴上画廊墙的。她在自己描绘的黑暗世界上，又加上了有着天真无邪大眼的年轻女孩，她们或是融入浓稠的黑色水坑中，或是困在果酱罐子里，或是埋在自己瀑布般的头发里。
Stickymonger spent her childhood days in Korea where her family owned a gas station. She says that her fascination with ink and liquid fluidity, which are both trademarks of her artistic style today, began as she played among oil cans. Beyond these childhood memories, she cites graphic novels and anime to be some of her biggest influences. “Galaxy Express 999 is my bible,” she says of the manga series from the late 70s. Some of her other manga-related influences include the works of horror artists Junji Ito, Kazuo Umezu, and Kanako Inuki.
Stickymonger童年大部分是在韩国度过的，她的家人在那里经营着一间加油站。小时候在石油罐中玩耍的经历，让她对油墨和液体流动性的产生着迷，而这两点也成为了她的标志性艺术风格。除了这些童年回忆之外，插画小说和动漫作品对她影响也很大。她说：“《银河铁道999》是我的圣经。”除了这部 1970 年代末的漫画系列，恐怖漫画家伊藤润二、楳图一雄（Kazuo Umezu）和犬木加奈子（Kanako Inuki）的作品也对她的创作有重要的影响。
Despite the dark undertones, her artworks are actually meant to be a creative outlet for some of her past interpersonal struggles, frequently conveying feelings of anxiety and her experiences with prejudice. Oftentimes, the girls depicted in her murals are lost in thought, submerged in sludge with their eyes glazed over, or worriedly looking elsewhere as if searching for an escape from within Stickymonger’s sinister landscapes. Throughout her work, her subjects are intertwined with the landscape, dissolving into bodies of liquid blackness or forming portals into an alternate universe. The large-scale murals, which she has described as a visual representation of her sardonic worldviews, allow viewers to be fully immersed in her dark, haunting landscapes.
尽管作品风格较为黑暗，但她的作品其实是她在过去一些个人内心挣扎的创意宣泄口，所以她的作品中常常会透露出焦虑的情绪，以她个人的主观角度讲述她的经历。大部分时候，画中的女孩都陷入沉思，满身污泥，或目光呆滞，或苦恼地望向别处，仿佛想要寻找出口，逃离Stickymonger描绘的这个险恶世界。在她的作品中，她所画的对象与背景交织在一起，或是融入一大片黑色液态中，或是形成通往另一个宇宙的入口。她解释，这些巨幅壁画展现了她个人充满讥讽的世界观，让观众可以完全沉浸在她令人难以忘怀的黑暗世界中。
After having held successful exhibitions in San Francisco, New York, and South Korea, Stickymonger’s latest work will be featured in CIRQUE NOIR, a group show at AFA Gallery in New York City. The show will begin October 7th, 2017.
继在旧金山、纽约和韩国成功举办展览后，Stickymonger将参加纽约的AFA 画廊举办的群展《CIRQUE NOIR》，展出自己的最新作品。展览开幕时间为2017年10月7日。
Website: stickymonger.com
Facebook: ~/sticky.monger
Instagram: @stickymonger
Contributor: Megan Cattel
