Emily Yong Beck

Emily Yong Beck hand-builds stoneware vessels modelled on traditional Korean forms such as the maebyeong vase and the onggi fermentation pot. Their rough, lopsided surfaces carry scratched images glazed in saturated colour, with elements that reach out beyond the body of the vessel. Yong Beck populates these forms with cartoon characters, from Hello Kitty, Pokémon and Sailor Moon to Garfield and Popeye, alongside imagery taken from propaganda cartoons. Through this cuteness she examines how mass-produced, palatable images can cover over violence, and in particular how kawaii culture has been used to soften the history of Japanese occupation and the continued militarisation of Korea.