Piece Description
Medium: Digital Art
Dimensions: 8.5” by 14”
This piece portrays my experience as a Korean-American and my relationship with both cultures. My American identity is represented through the eagle which is the USA’s national animal, and my Korean identity is represented through a tiger which is Korea’s national animal. I drew the eagle in an American traditional tattoo art style and the tiger in a Korean folk art style in order to further establish and separate the two cultures. In the past, I was trying to escape my Korean identity by grabbing onto my American one, however, as it is still a part of me, my Korean identity was rooting me and pulling me down. I felt as if I was being split in two as I was not capable of being comfortable with who I was. The eagle represented the freedom I yearned for, and the tiger represented traditional values. With “Korean-American” I hope to visualize my internal dilemma to better grasp my identity as a whole instead of in pieces.
