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Artist Portfolio<br />
PicturinG the aFtermath<br />
oF a draGon’s death<br />
Gi’s skills as the consummate storyteller are on show in this intricate<br />
illustration that’s full of compelling narratives… and a dead dragon<br />
“This drawing was done for a solo exhibition<br />
curated by Daniel Maghen in France. I went<br />
with a concept that has both Korean and<br />
oriental themes, which audiences from<br />
different cultures can sympathise with.<br />
A dragon is an imaginary animal. It’s<br />
present in both eastern and western cultures,<br />
but looks slightly different in each. I wanted<br />
to draw a dragon and disassemble it.<br />
The dragon is the drawing’s main focal<br />
point. I made my story more interesting by<br />
adding a whole range of figures to tell more<br />
stories within a single composition. You can<br />
see the disconnect between elite and<br />
common citizens.<br />
I place the main storyline in the centre of<br />
the canvas: the protagonist who hunted the<br />
dragon. I then added stories about his family.<br />
The scene shows that catching the dragon<br />
was quite challenging. And the story<br />
continues with his wife and children, who<br />
are worried about him, the people who take<br />
the dragon apart and the various tools they<br />
use, the people carrying away parts of the<br />
dragon, and so on. I spread out small stories<br />
within the bigger picture.”<br />
and a comic book illustrator<br />
known and loved by people who’ve<br />
never read a comic. His clients include<br />
DC, Marvel, Riot Games and Universal<br />
Pictures. And Gi being Gi, he can<br />
remember the moment it all began.<br />
A quiet oBserver<br />
He didn’t play games as a child. He<br />
preferred watching other children<br />
playing. He liked to observe his<br />
environment, to take it all in. As a boy,<br />
he saw an illustration on the cover of a<br />
manga series called Dr. Slump, drawn<br />
by Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama.<br />
Gi was fascinated by complicated<br />
things, particularly machinery. He<br />
drew these things, dismantling and<br />
rebuilding them in ink. He’d always<br />
38 August 2017