Aaron Chung Art › Current Series

When Tigers Smoked

My ancestors told stories of a time when tigers smoked. They conjured distant realms where animals spoke to humans, relics granted power, and trials and tribulations shaped the natural world. I am interested in how folktales and history evolve across generations and the shared experiences within diasporic communities.

In my recent works on hanji (Korean mulberry paper), I approach these stories as one might recall a memory—fragmented, shifting, and fading. Layers of dry-brush marks, poured paint, and gestural figures drift across the porous surface. From lines that emerge and dissolve within atmospheres of color, I draw upon the compositional structures of chaekgeori still lifes and the visual language of minhwa, allowing their motifs to surface and recede. These forms highlight vignettes rooted in auspicious symbols found in artifacts, mythology, and protest imagery.

Guided by hanji’s delicate yet resilient nature and the traces left by ink and acrylic, I paint to reimagine ancestral forms and ideas. The works resist fixed narratives, exploring notions of identity and history as both familiar and distant. They become invitations to reflect on how culture expands through personal and collective memories.