Drawing | Yoon Seyeol

YOON SEYEOL

Self Portrait

Pencil on paper
21 x 29.7 cm
2022

During my 18 months of service in the Korean military, I had a lot of time to think about my future and career goals, to the point that I was overthinking at times due to the extended period of time I was taking away from art. I was able to find peace by painting in this self-portrait, because I was able to express my thoughts and worries through it. The above portrait of me looking ahead with pursed lips shows me deep in thought, while my gaze, emphasized nose and forward slanting hair indicate my focus on the future.

Our Life

Pen on paper
40 x 57.5 cm
2022

Leaves bloom everywhere and most of them are in a healthy state while some still need to rise. However they don’t give up and are constantly trying to be patient until they are presented to be strong and stable. Looking at these leaves growing resembles very much with us. We all go through different journeys in our life and encounter failure and success. We can learn from it and keep trying when life is all about growth just like how leaves do. It’s important to keep growing and achieve what we desire but also crucial to maintain stabilizing until the end of our journey.

Silent Focus (1)

Pencil on paper
40 x 57.5 cm
2022

This piece shows professionals in a deep concentration flow state. All of the musicians’ eyes are closed, and their heads turned in different directions, as they’re focused on their respective instruments, paying no mind to how closely sat they are. The black and white suits and the blank background diverts the viewer’s gaze towards just the performers and their sheer focus on their instruments, giving the impression that brilliant music is being produced.

Silent Focus (2)

Unshakeable

Pen on paper
21 x 29.7 cm
2020

This is a stone-built street I found in an alleyway in Venice, Italy. I felt that the black pointed texture of a pen would best portray the rugged and harsh, but solid impression I got from the alleyway. Although the street was bumpy as a result of centuries-old engineering, I think the endurance and slightly discordant but ultimately harmonious co-existence of the stone houses and street were also captured by my usage of a pen - sharp and seemingly dissonant at parts, but tied together by the black and white color scheme.

Same But Different

Colored pencil and pen on paper
29 x 30 cm
2022

This brick wall in an old part of Seoul is damaged and not particularly aesthetic or clean, but I sought to depict the character from the years gone by. As such, I colorized only the red brick wall, which best showed signs of wear. Amid other traces of the older post-war Korea, such as the plant vases and outdated electrical wiring, the bricks have holes and are each faded to different shades. To me this shows how even things created the same can develop character and uniqueness with the passage of time.