This work was a central piece of my 2025 solo exhibition, "Two Lands – One Story: the Diaspora Voices," held at the "Itta Space" gallery in Incheon, South Korea.
The exhibition explored the complex identity of the Korean diaspora in Russia through the lens of my family’s history.
"A New Beginning" captures a pivotal moment: my grandmother’s wedding day in 1976 on Sakhalin Island. At a time when cultural traditions and social expectations strictly forbade marriages between Koreans and Russians, my grandmother chose love over exclusion. After the wedding, she was forced to leave her family home and build a new life from scratch on "new soil.
This painting is a tribute to human resilience and the healing power of love that erases geographical and cultural boundaries. It resonated deeply with the audience and was one of the first works acquired by a prominent South Korean art collector and gallery entrepreneur. For me, this piece is proof that a true union is unbreakable when founded on love and gratitude, regardless of the language one speaks or where one was born.
