Sunjoo Heo

Could you tell us a bit about your artistic journey — how did growing up in South Korea and living in Australia shape your creative vision?

Since I left South Korea and moved to Australia at the age of 18, my life has been totally shifted in a good way. Growing up in a very strict family, my art journey was never my career option at all. Many years of confusion and frustration about my career and future, I have finally decided to pursue my real passion for art since last September.

I think growing up being unheard and unseen as a kid has really affected me to think of the importance of self-belief and empowerment. Living as a South Korean immigrant in Australia has definitely strengthened my journey to embrace my roots, culture and identity.

How do cultural identity and migration influence the themes and emotions in your work?

Migration to Australia has broadened my mind and view to accept myself as who I truly am. Accepting and appreciating my cultural identity as South Korean has taken for a while because I did not grow up appreciating my heritage and culture by my parents with colonised minds. By decolonising the way I see the world, people and myself, I have started painting my journey on my work. It has healed me enormously because my lost and broken inner child has been finally taken care for, and I could love my true self and get my humanity back to love others. Therefore, my core themes and emotions in my present and future work are very clear that I hope to deliver decolonisation first to strengthen the culture and identity and interconnect with others.

Sunjoo Heo | A Child Of Cosmos | 2025

Your piece “We are all from Women” reinterprets the traditional Christian iconography of the Madonna and Child. What inspired you to confront this theme?

I am an ex-Roman Catholic, and I used to question the Bible teachings. Up until these days, Christianity has been weaponizing indigenous people and marginalised people (i.e., women). Despite the fact that a core teaching of Christianity is love, it has been against women for a long time, and still is. Therefore, I wanted to confront the irony and inconsistency about its teaching to give followers a chance to think about this matter.

Using the medieval art of ‘Christ’s Side Wound’ as a reference, I wanted to highlight that all creatures, including Jesus, are from Women, naturally and literally. To emphasise the importance of woman as a creature who have a portal for creatures to come to this world and challenge patriarchal belief.

How do you think religious symbolism can be reimagined to promote ideas of empowerment and gender equality?

Religions have shaped people’s minds and lives for a very long time. The reason why I use religious symbolism for my work is to give religious followers a space to think about something different from what they believe under their understanding of religion. For example, I have come to realise that my artworks emphasising women’s power can be quite controversial as most religions worship male figure Gods. However, it is also very interesting to see the response from the people who get triggered by my painting, thus it really shows how religions have erased feminism and women’s power for a very long time.

In “A Child of Cosmos,” the child holding the moon above the Earth seems both small and cosmic at once. What message do you hope to convey through this image?

I have depicted my younger self there because I wanted to tell her “You are a Child of Cosmos. You do not need to fear anything.” While I was growing up, I felt like I was reluctant to do anything I wanted because of my surroundings saying “no” to me all the time. I used to speak out loud about my desire and future, but later I became very internalised about the idea that I cannot make anything happen on my own. Without self-belief, I became nothing to me and to the world. Therefore, I depicted myself as a mini version of the Universe (our body structurally and conceptually resembles the Universe) to show our unlimited capability.

Sunjoo Heo | We Are All From Women | 2024

What materials or techniques do you prefer when translating such profound ideas into visual form?

I do not have particular techniques I prefer to another when painting at the moment. As a self-taught artist, I learn every day by watching other artists’ works on social media. I used acrylic paint first to see how it went, and then I changed my medium to oil paint because I always admired oil paint’s rich colours and textures on canvas. Now, I am interested in trying egg tempera as my next medium to see how it goes as I have been fascinated by iconography with it.

Many of your works seem to blend softness and strength — how do you balance vulnerability and empowerment in your art?

I think showing my vulnerability in my work is very important for me to stay authentic. It does take a courage to acknowledge my vulnerable part and embrace it as part of me. Once I become true to myself, I can start believing in myself that can lead to empowerment. By showing my healing journey in my work, people can resonate with their own journey and feel not alone along their way.