Meet Ziesook You

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ziesook You.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Ziesook. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.

I studied painting as an undergraduate, but I was also really attracted to photography and video, so I experimented with images, videos, and related works during my time as a graduate student. I had the opportunity to study in conjunction with other schools and under the instruction of a variety of professors. I took video classes, grew through my interactions with other students, and refined my perspective on media art through my own explorations. Participating in various art exhibitions, documentary film festivals, and residence programs gave me a chance to interact with various artists, curators, and arts associations, which helped me expand the scope of my work.

As my interest in the documentary medium grew, I was inspired to plan a self-portrait project.  The concept for was that every single day for ten years, I would express myself in a single photo. I began the project in 1999 and continued capturing daily images through the end of 2009. Each individual image was converted into a video frame, and the sequence of frames became a movie, compressing the entire period of 10 years into minutes. Over the decade that I worked on the self-portrait project, I developed an appreciation for the important meaning of time compression. When I left school and my own independent artistic work began to take shape, I built on the self-portrait project by recording myself and my family’s daily life and then expressing it as a single-channel video.

That endeavor provided a path to my next project, which was sparked after I was exposed to the beautiful country of Nepal through a television documentary. I was moved by what I learned about a small village located at the end of the Silk Road in Nepal named Broq-pa. In Broq-pa, the symbolic meaning of flowers is very special. In the Nepalese culture, flowers symbolize love, happiness, and appreciation for God. Broq-pa’s women are committed to growing flowers in their garden and decorate their hair with flowers every day. I wanted to incorporate this traditional symbolism from Broq-pa into my work and into my own personal life. I believe that this ephemeral medium, the flower, can carry a piece of happiness into people’s lives. My desire to share the spirit of Broq-pa with people through my artwork was the inspiration for my series, Scent of Broq-pa. The first work in the series began with floral portraits of my twin daughters. I am continuing the Broq-pa project by exploring floral portraits of seniors, single mothers, people from multicultural backgrounds, and different age groups.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?

After giving birth to my twin daughters in 2008, my new role as a stay-at-home parent made it too easy to let my artistic work take a backseat. I loved motherhood but increasingly, my creative side felt neglected and unfulfilled. I looked for a project that I could do with my family, one that would explore the roles of both parent and artist. I decided to document my experience as a mother, a woman, and part of a family.

Prior to my marriage, I started work on a project called 10-Year Self-Portrait. For this work, I recorded my portrait as a single-shot photo as soon as I woke up every morning to create a continuous visual record of the contents of ten years (1999 ~ 2009) of my life. By nature, this time-based media project demanded disciplined timing, and it was difficult to adhere to the daily regimen during the early years of parenting. But, by being flexible and willing to work in any method, I was eventually able to complete the project. I finished 10-Year Self-Portrait in 2010 and was fortunate enough to be able to showcase it in a solo exhibition.

In 2019, our family moved to the United States so my husband could take a job in Dallas, and I had to start over as a newcomer and new artist. Learning a new language and navigating a new culture felt like enormous hurdles to overcome. I had to learn how to communicate with people in my new home, but I also had to learn new systems and procedures for my art. I started attending art festivals to meet other artists and I was able to get acquainted with artists who were members of art associations. In time, I found opportunities to introduce my work by visiting galleries like the Dragon Street Galleries in Dallas to share my portfolio and learn more about how to be included in exhibitions. Asking questions felt awkward and I was nervous, but everyone was friendly and willing to provide the information I needed. Ultimately, I was offered the opportunity to exhibit. I still have much to learn about the arts in Dallas, but this is hopeful new chapter and challenge for me.

We’d love to hear more about your art.

In my Broq-pa series, flowers and people exist in harmony. Individuals have their own identity and their own color. I imagine the color a person has and try to find the right flower to suit him or her. A person’s color may arise from my impression of that person, their skin color, the clothing they wore that day, their makeup, or a special belonging. I try to find everything possible that expresses the individual’s personality. An image of a flower and a person that fit together becomes a uniquely descriptive portrait.

Unlike commercial photography, where a photo is achieved according to a formalized procedure, my art form always involves communication with the subject. I strive to have my work project the individual’s personality. My goal is to move beyond a simple portrait and create an intimate visual collage that incorporates multiple layers of meaning. By experimenting with various media and combining fresh flowers and dry flowers, I create an image with characteristics that lie somewhere between photography and painting.

If you had to start over, what would you have done differently?
Working with flowers and people is still interesting and attractive to me. My current work is centered on individuals and specific groups of people, such as seniors and single moms. If I were to start anew, I would like to expand my portraits based on the color of flowers worldwide. I’ve learned that the spectrum of colors in the world of flowers is much broader more than I expected, and that flowers themselves are as unique as the people I portray. I would love to visit the fields and flower markets of different countries and create images that reflect a country’s fashion and unique culture, in the same way a portrait represents a unique individual.

Pricing:

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.ziesookyou.com/
• Phone: 4695125773
• Email: ziesookyou@gmail.com

Image Credit:
ZIESOOK YOU

Suggest a story: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.