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Artist Hoon Choi uses traditional Korean tools to paint modern images in a style he is still trying to identify. Kate Chapman catches up with him to discuss the calligraphy and Mandarin class that landed him in Shanghai.

 

Unless you are Asian you probably would not think Hoon Choi was an expat if you met him on the street, he blends in with the throngs of Chinese people. But Choi moved to Shanghai almost a year and a half ago from his native South Korea.

 

A painter and exhibition curator, Choi enrolled in a calligraphy course in his home country and began to incorporate calligraphy into his paintings. The course focused on Korean and Chinese calligraphy.

 

"I could paint Chinese calligraphy very beautifully, but I didn't know what it meant," says Choi who has been learning Mandarin since arriving in China. "I was putting calligraphy in my paintings, but I couldn't put it in my own words, I had to put in pieces from poems and other writings."

 

Frustrated with this limit on his creativity, Choi came to China several times visiting art galleries and meeting other artists.

 

His lack of Chinese-speaking ability made these visits extremely difficult. "It was impossible for me to do anything," he says.

 

So, In January 2006 Choi moved to Shanghai permanently. He came to learn Chinese.

 

He enrolled in classes at Donghua University. From 8:30 AM to 12:15 PM each weekday Choi learned to speak, read and write Mandarin.

 

Now, 15 months later, language is no longer a barrier. "I have no difficulty in communication anymore. Now I can express what I want to say," he says.

 

Choi still attends morning lessons and afternoons are devoted to his art. He uses traditional Korean materials, which are similar to traditional Chinese materials. He paints on paper using water-based paints.

 

In the past he used naturally sourced colors, such as pigments ground from rocks. These are now much harder to find and increasingly expensive.

 

He paints a variety of subjects: people, landscapes and animals.

 

Although he likes the materials of traditional painting, he is not a fan of the traditional style. He believes there are too many rules constricting the painter today.

 

"People would not appreciate it now. They would hate it," he says.

 

But, he admits he is yet to settle on a specific style.

 

"I'm trying to find a style people haven't seen using the old materials," Choi says. "My style changes at different times. I'm still trying to find something I haven't found yet."

 

In the meantime other people seem to appreciate his work. In October 2006 he held a solo exhibition in Padua, Italy. Entitled "Memory and Stain," it featured pieces he had painted in Shanghai.

 

"I was a little nervous to have an exhibition there because Italy is not an easy place on artists, but people seemed to like my work," he says.

 

The successful exhibition was the confidence boost he needed. He is now set to have an exhibition in Shanghai in June: his first in China.

 

"The paintings will be bigger because I don't have to ship them, but they will be of a similar style to those in Italy," he says.

 

Choi spent two years studying English in Sydney, and would one day like to take an exhibition there. "Australia is like a second home for me. Being able to speak English changed my life a lot."

 

And it seems being able to speak Chinese is doing the same.

 

(Shanghai Daily April 24, 2007)