Today we’d like to introduce you to Nora Chin.
Nora, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
I was born and raised in Rogers Park on the far Northside of Chicago and have lived in the city my whole life. Even though both my parents and my brother are artists and musicians, growing up I was more of an athlete than an artist, figure skating at a high level all through elementary and high school. Despite this, I was still interested in art, specifically photography. After graduating from high school I started an athletic career, working for Disney on Ice for three years as an ensemble performer, traveling to over 25 countries all over the world. It was an amazing experience but eventually I realized that I still wanted to go to college and I left to attend The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. I had never really thought seriously about becoming an artist but while attending SAIC I realized art was something I truly enjoy and one of the only things I have an inherent motivation to do. After graduating in 2016 I continued to make art, expanding my work to include drawing, painting, and sculptural ceramic work. I also started a gallery called Friendzone which was located in the store front window of my old studio and now exists as a freelance curatorial project. Right now, as Friendzone, I curate the art at The Winchester, a restaurant in Ukrainian Village. Currently I am an artist resident with HATCH Projects at the Chicago Artists Coalition and continue to make work on my own at my studio in North Lawndale.
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
My art is mainly focused on relational nostalgia, or things that link a generation through immediate recognition and a shared experience. I used to make art that was pretty heavy and depressing, which is a fine way for artwork to be, but I really missed laughing and I wasn’t having fun making it or getting any kind of therapeutic release from it, so I started a painting that was basically just a 3′ x 4′ canvas that I painted little funny objects on. The first thing I painted on it that really sent me in the direction I’m on now was a Nokia 3310, better known as a Nokia “brick phone” (because of it’s shape and durability). I eventually also ended up painting a T-Mobile sidekick and a Motorola Razr as well (one phone i always wanted but never got, the other a phone I always wanted and DID get thanks mom) as well as other funny little childhood things like stickers from those laundromat vending machines and the AOL Instant Messenger logo. This painting was eventually abandoned, but thinking about these cell phones and things was really fun and I got into finding other objects from my childhood that made me feel like that (silly and nostalgic, but warm nostalgia not sad nostalgia). Mostly when I make work I’m just trying to have fun and laugh.
I kept thinking about who I was as a kid and all the insecurities and complexes that have followed me into adulthood. I am much better at processing and dealing with those things, but internally they feel the same. I am interested in our relationship to our younger selves and how, emotionally, being an adult can often feel just like being a teenager. My current body of work focuses heavily on “The Simpsons” and other representations of teens/tweens in TV and movies. My sculptural work finds these moments of childhood in “The Simpsons” and pulls out of them a moment that I feel encapsulates it. Much like a in memory where a single color, object, image, or smell can hold a thousand thoughts and feelings, these sculptures are meant to be signifiers of an experience.
I hope when people view my work they are having fun. I think laughter would be the ideal response, especially if the laughter is in recognition of something the viewer also grew up with. I’m really into music, objects, TV, and movies that aren’t good, but the reason you love them is because they are bad. Maybe what someone might call a guilty pleasure. Fluff pop culture is much more important that we admit most of the time. I think we use pop culture to self-reflect and to pacify our depression/panic/fear regarding the current state of the world. I view the big upsurge in TV show reboots as a means through which my generation can attempt to experience the world we grew up in, one that we remember as being more prosperous and peaceful. I want my art to be both an escape and a fun way to access the hard realities that are rooted deep within us.
What responsibility, if any, do you think artists have to use their art to help alleviate problems faced by others? Has your art been affected by issues you’ve concerned about?
I won’t say that my work isn’t political because I think everything involves some kind of politic, but I don’t think my work is specifically about politics or that it reaches globally in the way global political events do, and I don’t think it comments on politics in a direct manner. If anything I would say that my work is more about the “self-care” aspect of political action. It’s incredibly important for all people, not just artists, to be active in politics to some extent, and there are many ways in which you can do that ranging from participating in protests and town meetings to keeping yourself educated and voting in every single election you possibly can. The other side of that participation is how you revive yourself from the emotional labor of being politically active. Popular culture, TV, movies, and books are of course a great way to relax and unwind. They also provide another way of looking at and interpreting current events, which always helps to break up the depressing news cycle. Beyond that I haven’t quite figured out how my work reflects these kinds of events and issues and I hesitate to comment further on it because I’m not the most educated person on these things and I don’t want to spread any misinformation or claim my own ignorance as fact.
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
This year I am part of “Local Comfort”, a large group show at LVL3 in Wicker Park that opens on September 22nd. In January I will have my second show with Chicago Artists Coalition’s HATCH Projects, a 6 person show curated by Sabrina Greig. I am also participating in “Pocket Object”, a multi-city exhibition created and curated by Noël Morical featuring new keychain based works by over 150 artists. The show opens in Kansas City on September 7th at Juicebox Gallery and will travel to Chicago in early 2019. You can always view my work on my website (norachin.com) and keep up to date with upcoming shows and events on my Instagram (@incrediblyhumbleartist).
Contact Info:
- Website: norachin.com
- Email: nchin@saic.edu
- Instagram: @incrediblyhumbleartist
Image Credit:
All images by Nora Chin
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