Lucky Face

Jiha Moon does not shy away from jumbling up recognizable images with a twist of humor. She unapologetically uses icons traditionally associated with folk art, shamanism, and pop culture, and carefully juxtaposes them to create her own visual language that speaks to the immigrant experience.

Here, a monstrous creature evocative of a Korean tiger or a Foo dog is adorned with banana hair and lemon horns. Below the figure appears the word “yellow,” and a closer look reveals that each alphabet is written in a calligraphic style, incorporating Hangul, or the Korean letter alphabet. Apart from pointing to artists like Andy Warhol, the color yellow and banana also imply xenophobic slurs against Asians and Asian Americans.