10 Questions with Sunny Ko

Sunny Ko is an artist whose creative style is infused with imagination, inspiration, and spontaneous ideas. She loves to experience her vitality, inspiration, joy, and magic through her creations.

The utopian world is a place her soul deeply longs for, a perfect paradise filled with freedom, release, inner fulfilment, and ultimate harmony with nature. The love flowing into her soul transforms into eternity in an instant.

The seeds of the artist's creativity were planted by her grandfather's words: "Every moment in life is a creation." He told her that she could create whatever she wanted at any moment, follow her heart, and do what she loves. It is these words that drive her to be an artist.

She has a profound admiration for the surrealist artist Hieronymus Bosch and his work "The Garden of Earthly Delights." The mysterious world depicted by Bosch transcends her time, and she finds it full of inspiration and talent. From a storytelling perspective, there is a series between the three panels, with many details containing numerous metaphors that can be interpreted like a narrative.

Through her art, she creates infinite possibilities. It can be a moment of inspiration or an emotional expression. It is powerful because it can authentically represent herself. She hopes that art will focus more on the positive aspects during social change.

Sunny Ko believes that a "Natural Utopia" represents a beautiful world where humanity lives in harmony with nature, symbolising an unquenchable happiness and beauty. She looks forward to the future realisation of this Natural Utopia and cherishes the vitality she feels from nature.

What role does nature play in the artist's creative process? When she sees the word "nature," images of doves, water, beautiful skies, and trees automatically arise in her mind.

She does not believe that the vision of utopia is out of reach. In Sunny Ko's works, she strives to convey a feeling, a sense of peace and relaxed happiness.

INTERVIEW

Let's start from the basics. Who are you, and how did you develop into the artist you are today?

I'm Sunny Ko, an artist whose creative style is full of creativity, imagination and momentary inspiration. I enjoy experiencing my vitality, inspiration, joy and magic through creation.

Your creative journey was deeply influenced by your grandfather's words. How do they continue to shape your artistic process today?

My creative inspiration comes from my grandfather's words, "Every moment in life is a creation.” My grandfather told me that I could create what I want at any time, follow my heart and do what I like.

Tell us more about your work. What mediums or techniques do you work with? And how do they help you convey your message?

In addition to the traditional painting techniques of the masses, my paintings also employ tie-dye. Instead of directly drawing patterns on the white cloth, certain parts of the fabric are made tight through methods such as tying, sewing, clamping and binding, preventing the dye from penetrating. When these knots are untied, the tightly tied parts will present blank patterns that have not been dyed. I mainly express myself through tie-dyeing. Art can be very free, casual, random and at the same time fun.

Nature seems to play a vital role in your creative process. Can you share how it inspires your art and how you incorporate its essence into your creations?

Nature is a place that my soul deeply yearns for. This is an ideal paradise, brimming with freedom, release and ultimate harmony. A momentary scene is frozen into eternity, and these eternal moments are my creative inspirations. I attempt to make nature the soul of my works and use natural phenomena as metaphors for life. For instance, "seeds breaking through the soil" symbolises hope and rebirth, while "rivers flowing into the sea" expresses destination and pursuit.

You admire Hieronymus Bosch and his work, The Garden of Earthly Delights. What elements of his art resonate most with you, and how do they inspire your storytelling through your own work?

In the world of "The Garden of Earthly Delights" depicted by Bosch, it is full of mystery, far beyond his time. He is extremely talented and full of inspiration. From the perspective of the story, there is a series among these three paintings.Many details contain numerous metaphors and can be interpreted like a story. In terms of colour, influenced by Bosch, I used more brilliant colours, making the entire painting richer.

Your art strives to convey a sense of peace and relaxed happiness. How do you translate these emotions into your visual language?

When peaceful and relaxed emotions arise, pigeons, water, beautiful skies and trees automatically come to mind. It can be a sudden flash of inspiration or an expression of emotion.

What does the concept of a "Natural Utopia" mean to you, and how do you envision its realisation through your art?

"Natural utopia" represents a beautiful world where humans and nature coexist in harmony. It symbolises indelible happiness and beauty. I look forward to realising a natural utopia in the future. I enjoy the vitality I feel from nature. I adopted many animal and landscape elements in an attempt to construct a natural utopia through my paintings.

Your work presents predominantly soft and pastel colours. How do you choose your colour palette, and what do these colours represent for you?

My colour selection is mainly pink. I like pink and purple very much. Pink represents a pink girlish heart, and purple represents a noble soul.

Is there anything else you would like to experiment with, both in terms of techniques or themes?

I also want to try installation art. I want to try creating works with themes such as chasing light, the rich, dust and the city.

And lastly, what are you working on right now, and what can we expect to see next from you?

I am currently creating a series of works with the theme of chasing light. Every starlight is a story, and every beam of light is a miracle. No matter when or in what situation, where the heart leads will surely shine brightly and illuminate the world.

Artist’s Talk

Al-Tiba9 Interviews is a promotional platform for artists to articulate their vision and engage them with our diverse readership through a published art dialogue. The artists are interviewed by Mohamed Benhadj, the founder & curator of Al-Tiba9, to highlight their artistic careers and introduce them to the international contemporary art scene across our vast network of museums, galleries, art professionals, art dealers, collectors, and art lovers across the globe.

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