"Freakshow Green Room Moments", oil paint on canvas, 60” x 40”.

*posted on 2021;

It took a long time, but I am finally able to present this painting today. I've been emotionally motivated to finish this piece.
This is the backstage of the "FreaKKshow" event that we, Kostume Kult and House of Yes, held last year. What do the performers look like as they wait in the wings?

In the long history of art, there have been many works depicting performers backstage, before or after their performances. Many of the famous works I know have dark expressions on their faces. They are often said to be a projection of the artist themselves, showing the complexity of the mind of a person that expresses themselves and is supposed to please others.
As an artist, I have been influenced by such works ever since I was studying art when I was a teenager.

However, the backstage I saw last year was filled with the feeling of tension and positive energy because this was one of the first events that took place after the long lockdown.

One year before this event, during the pandemic, I saw dancing performers at the Brooklyn Museum and painted the scene. It was like a burst of energy from a dancer deprived of a place to express themselves.
But at this event, they were finally able to dance in public. I loved this time so much that I hurriedly sketched there to somehow preserve this moment and reconstructed them, and finally one painting was completed.

And I am still drawing them today. Not them on stage, but backstage. (They are best seen live on stage. Buy a ticket and go to House of Yes or any event where they perform.) I want to draw stories of those who show cool and mysterious faces on stage. Hopefully, someday I will have the opportunity to exhibit them all together.

(2021 Brooklyn, NY, USA)

*Limited edition prints available