Yoo Joung Hwang’s Obsessions

HEELS AND LEATHER JACKET

When I was working in three different countries (USA, England, France), I was pretty young and, obviously—I’m a woman and I’m Asian—I was considered a minority, especially in the field of architecture. I wanted to look more professional, so high heels sort of became my armor. It strengthened my feminine side but also gave me power and confidence in formal meetings. But as an interior designer, I have to visit sites and meet with carpenters and concrete masonry workers in kind of tough conditions. There, you want to show you belong, so I started wearing this motorcycle leather jacket. High heels for meetings; leather jacket for site work. And they kind of made me who I am. I’ve been buying this specific brand of heels for the last 10 years: Gianvito Rossi.

THE MATCHING AND PAIRING GAME

I think art is a little about finding a good combination of things, even if it doesn’t seem like that in the beginning. When I was a student at SAIC, there was a fabric market, and I loved taking scraps of fabric and then matching which fabrics that look good together to create this weird object. And I think it’s a little bit of an occupational hazard, to want to look at an object and imagine how it might pair well with something else. It’s a “matching and pairing” game. So wherever I go, whatever I do, if I see something, I memorize that object so I can mentally place it in a different scene later. And if I see a certain thing out in the world that doesn’t match, I feel like I have to rearrange and reconfigure it. Even food! If I order a dish, I want it because it pairs well with something else I ordered. There’s a balance or harmony, I think, that I enjoy.

COLOR, TEXTURE, AND SYNESTHESIA

Synesthesia is a neurological phenomenon that causes people to experience colors when they perceive other stimuli, such as letters, numbers, sounds, or tastes. In my case, it’s numbers. Growing up (and still), colors had certain emotions that can be interpreted into numbers. For example, purple is eight. Blue is three and red is five, which makes the total eight (purple). I thought everyone saw color this way, but it turned out it was a pretty rare condition. This is definitely how I became so obsessed with colors. I am sure there are a lot of art school students who can relate to  this. This ability is something to be nurtured as artists and designers or any creatives.

When I was at SAIC, my dorm room was infamous for having too much color, and some of my friends would say, “YJ, it’s making my head spin!” I just really like using bold colors, because it changes your emotions. When you’re feeling low, it lifts you. When I was in London—you know how London is kind of a gray city—I saw this pink wall, like really neon pink, out of nowhere and it immediately changed my emotion. I felt so energized, like I totally saw a different world. I really believe in the power of colors and how they change your state of mind. For me, my favorite color has always been purple, because it pairs well with any color. It’s versatile. It complements my character, because it represents creativity, mystery, sophistication—just a really imaginative mindset.

GIMJANG

In the fall, gimjang (김장) is a Korean tradition where family members gather to make kimchi together. Like hundreds of kimchi—cut, wash, salt the cabbage, the whole shebang. Not many Korean families do this anymore. It’s sort of a dying tradition, but my family always makes kimchi together. The red pepper paste gets everywhere by the end of the day. It’s a huge mess but it tastes great. And each family has a secret ingredient they add that makes each family’s kimchi taste a little different. Our family’s secret is the squid—we put raw squid in and it adds a deep flavor. ■