October 9, 2025
Written and recorded by Gallery & Curatorial Fellow Eva Llopiz
Shifting from this common idea of Rage and Ecstasy through “Karens,” Yun begins to portray this idea through dogs instead, and a lot of dogs at that. She strays from her typical portraiture of “Karens” pulled from real life videos and scenes that are scattered throughout the exhibit, aiming to depict more direct, understandable chaos rather than the unjust rage of a single unstable woman from a viral video. In Houndstooth, Yun created her own scene based on the idea of “Starbucks Karens” and emphasizes the idea of narcissistic engagement. We are meant to imagine ourselves as the dogs in this scenario. We are doing what is seemingly best for only ourselves. We as humans have an instinct to fetch after what we want, even if it isn’t good for us. We can relate to dogs in that sense. If what we catch can fill an empty void within ourselves, it doesn’t matter the chaos it takes to get there, and it doesn’t matter the repercussions it holds. Yun described her use of dogs as a gentrification symbol as well: are we domesticating the dogs, or is it the other way around? Are they actually controlling us? By keeping in touch with our animalistic instincts, we always strive to get what we want, what is fulfilling, what is sweet, and what is detrimental to our bodies. Each of the dogs are meant to represent the human condition and how we can unleash chaos, or rage, to achieve ecstasy. In this image, both Rage and Ecstasy are clearly shown. The dogs are feral, itching for something to relieve their hunger. Some dogs are experiencing the crash for indulging so heavily in something that isn’t good for them, such as the dog throwing up in the piece. The people in the back pay no mind because they aren’t meant to represent us, but the dogs are. We engage in Rage and Ecstasy to fill our own needs, yet we pay no mind to the possible repercussions of such. Similarly, we watch these “Karen” videos, laughing and being entertained by the misery of a random woman, thus fueling the cycle even harder and provoking the women to react once again, just for us to watch the recording and laugh once more.