Chung Guk Ahn

I visited the exhibit of Chung Guk Ahn, a North Korean defector and artist. Born in Hamgyong Province, he escaped to South Korea in 2009, his father arranging his passage through a broker while the rest of the family believed he had died. Facing bullying and discrimination in his new home, he turned to spontaneous scribbling and drawing as a way to process what he carried. That instinctive act became his signature style. Working from his most familiar experience and exploring questions of identity and belonging shaped his work. When I first met him, I heard the stories of his work and the struggle behind his art.