October 9, 2025
Written and recorded by Gallery & Curatorial Fellow Sam Bruetsch
These experimental beaded works contrast the realistic paintings of “Karen” while adding a deeper connection to their emotions and Yun’s own process. For Yun, incorporating different mediums helps to capture the complex thinking needed to engage in this moment. She sees painting and drawing as a tool for expression and incorporating more mediums adds depth to her vision. This installation engages various themes in the exhibition, such as physical imagery of “Karen” and the connection to dogs. Tangled layering of the beads emulates the flowing hair of the distressed “Karen”. The beaded hair is not contained to the frame of a canvas, allowing it to freely move throughout the space. The beads are beautiful and aesthetically pleasing, sparkling as it catches light. In addition to the beads, this installation uses animal parts bought as dog food to continue themes of animalistic emotion. Yun found the dog food to have a primal beauty to it, describing its shiny, wet and fleshy appearance as her own personal ecstasy. She likes to see the veins in the ear and cods skin. Yun uses the dog food to highlight cut off primal urges now shown through “Karen” content. Rage & Ecstasy is a poetic representation of paintings by visually expressing what her emotions are like: fluid, messy and raw. Yun had her own release through the material and construction. Getting to work without borders allowed this experimental sculpture to assemble intuitively. The beads are secured to hooks in the wall, but the majority of the material hangs down and tangles with itself. The beads and skin play off of each other, highlighting their shared beauty. Yun captures the emotions together by working the different materials into one unified art work. Contrasting ideas of beauty and questioning the perception of unconventional items in a fine art space, such as dog food, she expertly engages with the abstraction of emotion. Who defines beauty? What is unseen and what are we hiding within ourselves? What do your emotions look like?