“That self-connection shared is a measure of the joy which I know myself to be capable of feeling, a reminder of my capacity for feeling.
And that deep and irreplaceable knowledge of my capacity for joy comes to demand from all of my life that it be lived within the knowledge that such satisfaction is possible…”
— Audre Lorde, Uses of the Erotic
about Yaerin Kweon (they/them)
I am a high-functioning multi-passionate creative emerging from the liminal space between the Korean peninsula and the US imperial empire.
I am an ex-scientist, ex-addict, and survivor of sexual assault and multiple suicide attempts.
Having been blessed with a high degree of intensity and generational weight from my Korean ancestors who faced imperial violence, I find great meaning in transmuting the pain of the human experience into creative expression.
Similarly, I find deep empowerment in surrendering to the cyclical processes of shedding skin, giving death, and rebirthing anew.
My creative work is deeply rooted in the practice of non-attachment and de-identification in order to explore themes such as: integration of the shadow, queer femininity, Korean cultural identity, connection to the Earth and Divine Life, and the nondual spiritual tradition.
I work in mediums encompassing painting, drawing, design, animation, movement, digital illustration, video, language, and more.
I graduated summa cum laude with a 3.99 GPA
from the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) in 2022 double majoring in Biology with honors and Fine Arts.
My scientific background is based in my past experience working and studying in a Neurosurgery and Bioengineering lab, as well as in a Dermatology and Ophthalmology lab, both at my alma mater at Penn.
