Today we’d like to introduce you to Jiahn Chung.
Hi Jiahn, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I started off self-taught, never grinded in an art studio or classes before entering ArtCenter College of Design. I was never fond of the intense grinding as I thought it was too unhealthy or unfit for me. In my high school years, I was interested in experiencing other activities such as color guard, photography, and much more. But I was always afraid I was spreading myself too thin, as I have been told multiple times by other professionals. During my first year of college, I felt extremely behind as other people my age had already developed foundational skills and knowledge beforehand. I started to doubt if I really made the right decisions in pursuing my interests and passions before starting my career. At the time, I never really had a passion for art either; I only enrolled in ArtCenter because art was one of the better skills I had. It was definitely something that was built over time during my years in college. The learning process was demanding and I had to make rational sacrifices to make room for my career. It was an extremely difficult and depressing time, but something I realized was that I was never fully able to let go of the other passions I had despite what I thought I had to do.
As I went through my terms along with the hard work I put into my art and learning, I believe I was able to ignite a passion for art and incorporate the other parts of myself into my expressions of work. I can create engaging stories, characters, and ideas that I can put out to the world. I wouldn’t change my life. I’m grateful for all the hardships and experiences I went through or got the opportunity to have in order to become the person I am today.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I have been part of my high school’s color guard for all four years, as well as marching with a drum corps in the summer of 2019, and those experiences have been the most beneficial thing I’ve ever had in my life. I learned how to work with various different types of people, including people who I disagreed with and people who were troublesome. I developed healthy habits, molded myself into a hardworking person, and pushed my limits. But on top of all this, I have a skin condition called eczema, and I’m extremely allergic to the sun/UV light and extreme heat. In my years of high school, it became increasingly severe, making my daily life as a student and as a teammate difficult. It was challenging to find a way to be in the marching band, an activity that requires around 30 hours a week in the sun. I’ve had to work through my condition with harsh trial and error, costing me many trips to the hospital. It often left me injected or pasted with steroids due to the state I would be in, and even the doctors didn’t know what to do besides that.
However, I protected myself by covering my body from head to toe and went out to march like the rest of the members did. Because I didn’t want to be a burden to the team, I was motivated to not just reach the standards of band but go beyond their expectations even with my condition, making me work twice as hard. I didn’t allow myself to make any excuses about this or let this “disability” slow me down, and I performed my responsibilities like anyone else would.
It really wasn’t easy. I don’t know how else to describe it, but it put me through one of my darkest times. “How was I supposed to live like this for the rest of my life?” I would think to myself as I lay paralyzed in my bed suffering from third-degree burns all over my body. I went through some of the most difficult times of my life and I even doubted my career as an artist since my condition made me feel very limited both physically and mentally.
My condition affected my career as an artist as I couldn’t go out whenever I felt like it to draw or paint outdoors. I would have to make sure it wasn’t too hot and that I had my protective gear on me, and sometimes I wouldn’t feel motivated to go anymore because it was such a hassle to protect myself. There are many other factors such as my visor distorting my vision, having too many things to carry, or getting funny looks and stares as if I’m an exhibit at a zoo.
Though my art career isn’t as physically intense as color guard was, there has been a lot more interference than I thought there would be, and it still makes my journey to be an artist a lot more difficult. But I don’t want to use this as an excuse. I want to push beyond what’s expected of me like I did in the past with everything else. I believe that this was the starting point for one of my main influences for the work I create.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
One of the many aspects about visual art that I find to be most alluring is its narrative storytelling, which allows artists to showcase their individual interests and perspectives. I love learning about human behavior and am fascinated by our psychology. I enjoy reading books or watching documentaries about these kinds of topics in order to understand why we do the things we do. Nature is also a big inspiration of mine as I believe that it holds the key to many answers of many mysteries. I’m always eager to learn more about the world and really about anything. After learning the ropes of how to take care of myself, I would put my stories to use by treating my art as an outlet. As I kept going down my own path, other people’s lives and stories began to open a new light. Hearing complicated and difficult narratives, fiction or not, always has a soft spot in my heart. This personal experience of mine, the trials with my severe skin condition and other life troubles, has inspired not just my own work but it sparked a curiosity in me to learn more about complicated human emotions. As I have stated before, learning about unique lives leads to more complex yet realistic storytelling.
I am most proud of the pieces that have had a profound impact on others, sometimes even moving them to tears. Through my own creations, I wish to evoke in others the emotions that I have experienced and reach others in the way that art has impacted my life. Creating an entire universe with tangible characters and a compelling narrative for the sole purpose of breaking away from our own world has always fascinated me. With the experiences I will gain going down this path as an artist, I hope to be part of producing well-developed and engaging stories to share with an audience while also expressing my voice and interests about the world we live in.
How do you think about luck?
I used to believe I had really bad luck growing up; I was born with a lot of health issues, in an unstable family and low income, and some other experiences that led to many traumatic behaviors. Today, I still don’t think I was handed the best cards in life, but everyone has their own conflicts in life that occupy them. But personally, I’m proud of myself for taking advantage of it to grow as a person and integrate them into life skills and my art career.
Everything I’ve mentioned previously and can think of that would be typically labeled as “bad luck”, big or small, can be flipped; I’m able to recognize and surround myself with good and healthy people, I’m a hard worker that can adapt and learn fast, I use other creativities rather than just the pool of drawing and painting to create my works, and so on.
I don’t think anything in life is black and white on top of our own different interpretations of experiences and events. I’m thankful for everything I’ve gone through, even the most horrific and darkest times of my life have allowed me to go through a kind of metamorphosis. I hope to keep going on with this momentum and surround myself with people who will not only support me but I can learn from.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://axoloble.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/axoloble/?hl=en
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jiahn-chung-678a971b1/
