U rban, innocent and brooding, Stickymonger’s Pandemic Drifter , previously displayed at her 2021 solo exhibition Still Smiling at Allouche Gallery in New York, captures the frustration that has been looming the world in the face of travel restrictions and the pandemic. Raised in South Korea, the artist developed dark fluidity from her surroundings filled with gas stations and petroleum. Visually translated in her works, viewers are often entranced in her large-scaled, ominous and dreamy murals. In Pandemic Drifter, Stickymonger pushes boundaries in her usual practices, utilizing spray paint in a dirty street style to portray a young girl holding her luggage and gazing at the viewer, accompanied by a cartoon ghost. The work, imitating street graffiti, emanates a surreal sense of urban constriction and desperation, with effects of contemplation and alienation further accentuated through its black and white colour scheme. The artist diverges from her often vivid palette; the monochromatic choice emphasizes feelings of isolation and radiates a pure yearning for life to resume when the world reopens and reconnects. The painting effectively documents entrapment and boredom, ultimately posing as a powerful and timely mark of history.

New York-based Stickymonger is a young Korean artist who experiments with mediums ranging from vinyl stickers to spray paint to explore the mundane and the complex through large-eyed characters that often reflect relevant subjects of anxiety, innocence, and femininity.

這幅《大流行漂流者》曾於2021年紐約阿盧什畫廊舉行的Stickymonger 個展「依然微笑」(Still Smiling)上展出,畫中少女充滿城市氣息,看上去既無邪又憂鬱,體現了近年因旅遊限制及疫情而產生、籠罩著全球的挫敗感。生於南韓的Stickymonger,成長的環境被油站及汽油所圍繞,因此她的藝術具有某種黑暗、充滿流動感的風格。她陰森而夢幻的大型壁畫展現的視覺語彙常令觀眾感到著迷。在《大流行漂流者》中,Stickymonger突破了她慣常的手法,以粗糙原始的街頭風格,運用噴彩描繪一個拉著行李箱並直視著觀眾的年輕女孩,旁邊更有一隻卡通模樣的鬼魂。這個模仿街頭塗鴉的作品, 散發出由城市中的侷限與絕望而引發的一種超乎現實的氣氛,而畫作採用的黑白色調更突顯出沉思與疏離的氛圍。藝術家在本作中脫離了她常用的鮮艷色調,以單調的顏色強調孤獨的情緒,並流露出期盼世界重新開放、人們互相連繫、生活回復常態的一種純粹的渴望。這幅作品充分地展現被困及沈悶的情緒,是一個極合時宜並強而有力的歷史記錄。

現駐於紐約的Stickymonger是一位年輕的韓國藝術家,她熱衷於實驗塑膠貼紙及噴彩等不同創作媒介,並以透過渾圓大眼的人物探索各式各樣平凡及複雜的事物,這些人物通常反映出焦慮、天真及女性特質等大家熟悉的主題。