How does figurative painting allow for the exploration of abstract concepts?

My paintings hover between the real and the unreal, revolving around my memories, things I imagine while constantly referring back to my older works. What I have envisioned in my mind triggers me to paint and is based on a plausible space and time, something that looks like you could touch or something you could walk into. However, what I focus on more is the mood of each painting, which conveys emotions that enable me and the viewer to get immersed in the scene. The elements are depicted quite realistically which makes my work figurative, but things like a dominating colour or the handling and integration of subject matter within the rest of the image pushes the painting to explore certain ideas.

Each animal, object and place already has particular symbols, meanings, vibes, and a sense of time and belonging to a certain era. These elements are chosen sometimes purposefully, sometimes instinctively, but are combined in one coherent space in my work. Each element speaks to one another by how and where they are placed.

The fish tank has been a major motif in my recent practice. Especially in Aquarium (2020), I imagined myself being the viewer of the aquarium but also the big blue fish in the water, looking outside of the tank out of curiosity. I wanted to deliver emotions such as tranquility, a sense of wonder, contemplation, and playfulness through the painting. I was also interested in embodying contrasting properties such as new and old; moving and still; confinement and openness; cuteness and eeriness, and so on. These ideas are represented by objects: clocks, books, Korean antique water droppers, and by the motion of the small and big fish in the tank.

I feel there is endless possibility for figurative painting to convey abstract concepts. There are still a lot of things that are on my list that I would like to incorporate and explore more in my practice. At first, these abstract ideas come to my mind as a particular scene. After I complete a painting, I look back to see why I was so eager to materialise that particular scene and later I realise it was all about intangible ideas that intrigued me to start working. They cannot be precisely translated into language, but if I were to put them into words they would describe a feeling of awe in nature and in everyday life, a bond between animals and humans, and a longing for the ideal childhood and friendship.

Born in Seoul, South Korea, Minyoung Choi now lives and works in London.

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