Interview with Jessica Woo Jung Ghil

 and Roxane Hemard

RH : In terms of this series at Kearsey & Gold, Savouring Silence, which I know you mentioned was a continuation of a previous series –  what were some of the deviations or changes you made, if any? 

WJG : It still remains an inner self-portrait, so it’s a constant relation to myself. For example, I sometimes feel quite vulnerable and anxious, and so I strive for this ideal state of mind. Once I am able to reach that point, I feel calm, relaxed, which is something I’ve always wanted. I really want to visualise how I feel about myself inside – hence why my work is like an inner self portrait. 

RH : When you talk about this meditative process and attempt at visualisation of your inner self, what drew you to that approach – is it natural through your process or are you consciously trying to find that inner calm sanctuary?

WJG : The first 60% is the most chaotic moment in the process, because I don’t know how it’s going to come out. My current process made me believe in painting, because before, I saw it simply as an image, I was preoccupied with aesthetics. My process now makes me think of paintings as being alive. So I try to engrave my genuine feel to the painting and that usually happens in the first 60%. Afterwards, I can conceptualise where the work will go visually, whereas before it’s kind of like a baby, you don't know how it’s going to come out. I think that’s the beauty of abstract painting, you get to discover your own visual language which becomes sometimes surrealistic, sometimes figurative, but at the same time represents something in a very subjective way. Painting has to absolutely be subjective, at least for my practice. 

RH : We’ve spoken of your mindset when starting a work, is there a specific routine you have to get you going? 

WJG :  I would definitely prefer to start at dawn. That is my favourite time of the day. It helps me really sink into the painting – because everything is asleep, it’s slightly blue-ish outside but also very calming. I think best at dawn. I mean the birds start and there’s mist! I get really sensitive with noise which has gotten better over time. 

RH : Do you listen to music?

WJG : I try to listen to music without lyrics, I’m really bad at multitasking. I mean I try to listen to calming music, yes, but it’s not always like that. I feel really down sometimes and I would never want to pretentiously lie when I’m painting, so I’m always really careful about putting the right sense of my feelings when I’m working. I just want the work to be genuine. 

RH : A lot of your work focuses on constant repetition of layering paint — when do you know when a work is finished?

WJG : That’s a very tricky question. It’s more like pigmenting my painting, a constant change of tone and pigment. I use a lot of gamsol or a dilutter. I try to dilute as much as possible so I have very thin layers. It makes a big difference. All these layers matter because I dilute them so much it eventually comes up. Even seeing the tone of the linen I use is what I really like. I constantly layer because I love the transparency. It has to look right for me because sometimes it’s too grey or not what I’m aiming for, and I can’t explain that with words, maybe because I’m a painter. You just know what you want. I’m very sensitive to colour, and my mood affects the work. 

RH : You must be really adept at recognising the subtleties of colour…

WJG :  Yeah, that’s why I can’t bear bad lighting. For example, my topic is always about the sacredness of one’s hope, at least that’s my instinct to see things in a beautiful way. I always try to hold a purity of things, I always want to digest things in a subtle way. I want to digest all my anxieties in the most, not necessarily beautiful, but in the most “ok” way. 

RH : So it’s almost a pragmatic take? 

WJG : Yes, exactly. For example in one work, I was thinking of the pressure I put on myself, but the painting quite obviously doesn’t look negative in any way. I would consider it as my digesting of this pressure, not in a negative nor positive overcoming way, but more like acceptance. Painting helps me digest things in the most ideal way.. I’m a very idealistic person. And it’s only possible in painting, which is why I always paint with this thought of the ideal. 

RH : It’s interesting when you say the ideal is only possible in painting. If we compare it to music, for example, which is fleeting. You could have an ideal composition, but once played it happens and then it’s gone. 

WJG : Yeah exactly. The music will forever stay in your mind, but capturing that eureka moment in painting comes all of a sudden and then is able to remain.

RH : In terms of influence, do you have any artists or people you admire, if any? 

WJG :  I never was diligent enough to really go around looking up the artists. I’m very lack of research on who does what in the art world. But, obviously by chance I’ve run into artists I love like Klimt, John William Godward and Park Seo-bo. Back in the day, I didn’t believe in painting, I thought it was just an image and about academic perfection. I visited this art fair when I was a student. This was when there was the Kusama hype which I hated. Not because of her nor her work, but I just didn’t like the hype. So I left and walked around the corner, and found a gesso with pencil marks painting. The moment I saw it, I had this crazy moment when I had to cry in front of it. I was so embarrassed as I am not the most emotional person outside. Thank god, I was by myself. But then I went back, and it happened again. So that’s when I realised a painting can be alive. It just clicked, and I got this massive sense of relief and encouragement that another artist has understood your way of thinking. It made me realise that a painting, an abstract painting, can be quite powerful. 

RH : In regard to wanting a viewer to interpret your work the way you see it, does that play in when you’re working? 

WJG : No, I’m never a shouter. I don’t really care for what people see in my painting, I’m just grateful they are even looking at it. But mostly, I’m not curious about what they interpret, not in a bad way nor arrogant way! I just mean that once the painting is out of my hands, I think it exists on its own. Maybe some people like to be spoon-fed the information and I’m happy to explain but I don’t think it should be the defining factor. 

RH : Is there a direction or something you’re looking forward to in the future, future projects etc?

WJG : No, it's misty. I really don’t like planning to be honest, I’m very spontaneous. I’m so glad I’m a painter because I can be spontaneous, which is very different to a gallery who needs organisations and planning. Planning, for me, takes all the fun and I feel restricted. I don’t work well with deadlines. No deadline is when I feel free and that’s when the paintings look best, because I don’t have to constrain myself. In the end, I just want to sustain myself as a painter, and paint. The future is beautiful because it’s unknown.