Izzy Cho is a print, sculpture, and installation artist based in Chicago, IL. She received her BFA in Printmaking at the University of Oregon and is currently pursuing an MFA in Printmedia at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Cho engages with ideas regarding her Korean-American identity, ranging from the quotidian to the superstitious and the transnational to the domestic.
I am enchanted by the conjunction of magic and utilitarianism within the superstitions I inherited from my Korean-American identity. Using print and sculpture, I transform representational objects and rituals through scale shifts and repetition to make relational statements between the object/ritual and the supposed supernatural “output” it is supposed to project. Perhaps the bigger the charm, the greater the luck? Perhaps the larger the charm, the more potent the fortune?
The sources I extrapolate from range from antiquity, such as norigaes, to contemporary media, such as Korean variety shows. This synthesis of temporal references are a reflection on how superstition persists through lore and commodification. This is further explored materially, pairing hanji paper with laser cut acrylics.
Ultimately, my practice celebrates earnest but humorous attempts to pay homage to a transnational upbringing. Utilizing techniques of (mis)translation such as abstraction and reappropriation, I create mimicries based on quotidian rituals that contribute to the ever-growing echo chamber of iconography and nostalgia associated with a third culture.