White in Green—Repose
Oil on canvas
130 x 150 cm
2024

White on Blue—Blue
Oil on canvas
130 x 150 cm
2025

White on Violet—When Two Moons Rise Up
Oil on canvas
130 x 150 cm
2025

White on White—Pianissimo
Oil on canvas
130 x 150 cm
2025

White in Brown—Sandstorm
Oil on canvas
130 x 150 cm
2025

Personification of an Unidentifiable Word IV
Oil on canvas
91 x 117 cm
2024

Hwa-jin Seo

Originally from South Korea, my undergraduate major was Korean Language and Literature. I have written dozens of short stories and two novels. The writing process revealed how closely it is tied to cognition, not just through words, but also through imagery. This insight led me to study language and cognition during my Master’s in Language and Linguistics at Lancaster University (2018/19), followed by the Master’s in Fine Art at the Glasgow School of Art (2023/25). The MFA at the GSA allowed me to develop a cohesive form of artistic and literary practices. My most recent novel was shortlisted in Korea for the Hankyoreh Literary Award in 2021. My art has been exhibited in Paisley and Glasgow (2024-2025), and one of my portraits was featured by the Arts to Hearts Project magazine in their portrait category, 101 Art Book Portrait Edition 2025.

My art explores the interplay between verbal and visual language. I began making art as a way of relaxing during writing, which evolved into creating transformative images based on my novels, and later into generating new short texts while painting. Words in my work perform as a medium in themselves, immediately transforming into visuals, or their literary functions become part of the creative process of painting. The Five-White series follows the latter, drawing on the tradition of inscribing texts within paintings. My painting practice focuses on figuration, engaging with the body and mind. My figurative images often incorporate surrealistic expression and abstract elements.