SILLDA: Repressed Desires
Ice-cream babies and hairy ramen are the agenda for Korean visual artist SILLLDA. Her digital work is a construction born out of frustrations fuelled by the pandemic. After being accepted into art school to study fine art, her dreams were brought crashing down in 2020, when global restrictions and lockdowns prevented her from advancing her education. Begging her parents for an iPad, she turned this period of isolation into a creative hub, endlessly creating a series of surreal illustrations. The resulting images are a finely balanced act, marrying equal doses of beauty and horror.
Influenced by her heritage, Asian motifs litter her work; However, the traditional imagery makes way at times, to a darker and emotive personal touch—a touch that evokes the deep subconscious fears of her own mind. Elegant butterflies peeling away at skin, and anxiety-riddled women soaking in puddles of coffee; the scope of her work is epic for such a tender-aged artist. At times, Silllda has described the world to be a difficult place where “everyone seems to have their back to you”, but she views art as a refuge of sorts, a sanctuary from the outside, in which she can be her “own best friend”.
After downloading Instagram and quickly uploading a stream of creations, SilllDA has amassed a large fan following, who appreciate her bold colours, moody aesthetic and authenticity. The future is bright for this rising talent, as she also has plans to create a more interactive experience in the form of an exhibition that plays with the concept of a “house of horror”.
Keep your eye on this young artist, big things are coming.
GATA: Hello SilllDA, can you please introduce yourself to the GATA family?
SilllDA: Hi, I'm SilllDA an artist from Korea.
GATA: Can you tell us a little bit more about your creative career? When did you start drawing, and why did you decide to become an artist?
SilllDA: I started drawing when I was a kid, and I was always the best anywhere. However, art was what I was good at, not what I loved. When I got into college to study art, COVID-19 broke out, and finally, I had to spend a long time staying at home, which was good for me to learn about my identity. All I could do was draw at my house. So for the first time in my life, I started interpreting paintings only for the satisfaction of my senses and only when my unconscious lead me. A year has passed since this period.
GATA: How do you create your artworks? Are they paintings, or do you also add a digital touch? Can you explain to us a little bit more about your creative process?
SilllDA: I'm studying fine art at my college. So initially, I have mainly dealt with paintings such as oriental and western paintings, but due to the COVID pandemic, I have been concentrating on digital works for social media. I consider the advantage of digital works is their simplicity and speed. So most of the time, I lie in bed and draw using my Ipad.
“I draw scenes that infinitely come to my mind inside my subconscious. From what I guess, most of my inspiration is my repressed desires and deficiencies.”
GATA: Faces and hands are recurring points in your imagery, is there any particular reason behind this?
SilllDA: I want to deliver my emotions deeply towards people. Hands and faces are the most suitable friend that can provide my inner feelings. But recently, I'm trying to express emotions through objects that don't have emotions.
GATA: Your work is like dark poetry; they are deeply sentimental. What are your main inspirations, and what influences you to create your pieces?
SilllDA: I draw scenes that infinitely come to my mind inside my subconscious. From what I guess, most of my inspiration is my repressed desires and deficiencies.
I unintentionally imagine a lot of scary, horrible images wherever I go. It is because I'm actually a huge coward.
GATA: Because of your drawings, we can see that you like focusing on dark motives, like blood, sadness etc. What drives you to this, and why do you find mystery and darkness a source of inspiration?
SilllDA: We experience emotions that we cannot tell others in our lives. It can be a strong desire for love, resentment toward others, deep and profound thoughts, or maybe terrible loneliness in myself. These are also the emotions that I can feel the most sensibly and instinctively.
I have a big attraction towards contradictory and conflicting emotions. I can make sure that these instinctive and unspeakable feelings exist in everyone.
GATA: We can see that most of your works are shared online without any text as if they are self-explanatory. Do you do this on purpose? Do you like that your creations are open to any interpretation?
SilllDA: Originally, I used to draw pictures meticulously and strategically by setting clear topics and messages. But people had instinctively interpreted them as they wanted. So I considered them as their unconscious desires. So from now on, I instead wish for them to discover their inner desires through my paintings, not what I intended them to feel.
“I have a big attraction towards
contradictory and conflicting emotions. I can make sure that these instinctive and unspeakable feelings exist in everyone. ”
GATA: Let's talk about Tokyo; what are your favourite spots in the city? Is there any spot where you find special inspiration?
SilllDA: Tokyo was where I had spent my childhood from when I was born. Rather than just like a specific place, I liked the feeling of Tokyo's air, atmosphere, noises, and smell that I felt when I was young.
GATA: What do you have planned for the future? Are there any exciting projects that we can look forward to?
SilllDA: With illustrations drawn on the Ipad, I feel a sort of limitation in describing my creative desires. So I want to further express my identity with larger paintings or sculptures. And I am also attempting to put moving images in my original paintings.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME SilllDA!
EDIT BY SAMO