Hello. I'm NOVO, an artist who draws and works by collecting and stacking various objects and images. I enjoy looking at familiar things for a long time, and I carry the emotions and flow of memories that emerge from that process into my work.
Q. You first became known as a tattoo artist. What led you to expand your practice into painting, installation, and performance?
In the beginning, I spent a long time working with images left on skin. Over time, I found myself wanting to work within larger spaces, which naturally led me toward drawing, making objects, and composing entire spaces as a single scene. It feels less like a change of genre, and more like a gradual expansion of the way I've always liked to work.
Q. You've said that 'I myself' is always the starting point of your work — that staring at what you love long enough is how a piece begins. Could you walk us through that process in more detail?
I tend to look at things for a long time rather than trying to understand or define them right away. What starts as simply looking at an image or object gradually accumulates my memories, emotions, and the state I was in at the time. As I keep looking, the form sometimes appears different, or comes to me with an entirely new sensation — and that's usually where the work begins. For me, making work is less about explaining something, and more about continuing to look and slowly coming to understand.
Q. The phrase 'MORE HOPE RUN' appears frequently in your work. Could you explain what it means and how it connects to your practice?
It's less of a grand message and more something I say to myself — a resolve to keep moving, keep making, and not let go of the things I love. I often think about the strength it takes to keep going even when things aren't fully understood.
Q. Which of your works do you feel most attached to?
It's hard to pick just one, but I find myself drawn to works that stayed in my studio for a long time. Those feel less like finished results and more like a particular period's emotions or attitude that remained alongside them, which makes them a little special to me.
Q. In this piece for 78under, various objects are stacked together with the shoe sitting on top. What was your reason for going with this structure?
I've always enjoyed arranging things as if they were a single scene, drawn to the state of having images, memories, and feelings all gathered together at once. Rather than simply displaying a shoe, I wanted to create a structure where the things I've long looked at are naturally placed together — like a trophy of meaningful things, and a small personal archive.
Q. The right shoe rests on the art books Parks and Mother, while the left stands on the E.T. and Jordan VHS tapes. What was your reason for putting it together this way?
This piece is less about arranging images I like, and more about symbolically telling a story about myself. On my body, my right side carries tattoos representing my mother, while my left holds tattoos representing my father and son — and that structure naturally carried over here. The left represents who I am now, as both someone's son and a father. So I placed the images that have long defined me on the left, and on the right, the books connected to my mother. This composition holds within a single structure the layers of family, memory, and the time that has made me who I am.
Q. I've noticed E.T. appearing quite a bit in your work. What does E.T. mean to you?
E.T. is something I've loved since childhood, and it now lives in my work as a kind of persona representing myself. E.T. was first released in June 1982 — the same month and year I was born — which made the connection feel natural. Strange and otherworldly, yet pure and warm at the same time, it holds the memories of my childhood and the perspective I've carried through to today.
Q. The ketchup and glasses charms were each hand-painted by you. Was there a particular reason you chose these specific objects? I'm curious what that instinct feels like — picking something as a 'trophy of your taste.'
Most of them are things I find myself looking at for a long time in everyday life — not because they're special, but because they're so familiar that they keep catching my eye. I feel that even small objects carry the sensibility of their era, and I wanted those quiet, everyday images to come together like small fragments woven into the piece.
Q. You've said that collaboration is about finding the intersection between what you love and what a brand wants to say. What was the common ground you found with 78under?
I felt that 78under's energy — always moving, always pushing forward — resonated well with me. This felt less like a collaboration to decorate a product, and more like a process of naturally placing what each of us cares about into a single form together.
Q. Is there an ultimate goal you want to achieve as an artist, or a project you've always wanted to take on?
Rather than setting a specific end goal, I simply want to be someone who keeps working for a long time — staying in a state where I can keep looking at and making the things I love. And someday, I'd love to spread everything I love into something that feels like a world of its own, inside a very large space.
Q. Lastly, do you have any words of encouragement or advice for those who keep marching forward in their own way, without stopping?
I think it's okay not to rush toward results. If you keep looking at what you love and keep moving, your own direction will naturally find its way. The strength to keep going — even when things aren't perfect — is what matters most.
NOVO
My Trophy
Q. Could you briefly introduce yourself?
Hello. I'm NOVO, an artist who draws and works by collecting and stacking various objects and images. I enjoy looking at familiar things for a long time, and I carry the emotions and flow of memories that emerge from that process into my work.
Q. You first became known as a tattoo artist. What led you to expand your practice into painting, installation, and performance?
In the beginning, I spent a long time working with images left on skin. Over time, I found myself wanting to work within larger spaces, which naturally led me toward drawing, making objects, and composing entire spaces as a single scene. It feels less like a change of genre, and more like a gradual expansion of the way I've always liked to work.
Q. You've said that 'I myself' is always the starting point of your work — that staring at what you love long enough is how a piece begins. Could you walk us through that process in more detail?
I tend to look at things for a long time rather than trying to understand or define them right away. What starts as simply looking at an image or object gradually accumulates my memories, emotions, and the state I was in at the time. As I keep looking, the form sometimes appears different, or comes to me with an entirely new sensation — and that's usually where the work begins. For me, making work is less about explaining something, and more about continuing to look and slowly coming to understand.
Q. The phrase 'MORE HOPE RUN' appears frequently in your work. Could you explain what it means and how it connects to your practice?
It's less of a grand message and more something I say to myself — a resolve to keep moving, keep making, and not let go of the things I love. I often think about the strength it takes to keep going even when things aren't fully understood.
Q. Which of your works do you feel most attached to?
It's hard to pick just one, but I find myself drawn to works that stayed in my studio for a long time. Those feel less like finished results and more like a particular period's emotions or attitude that remained alongside them, which makes them a little special to me.
Q. In this piece for 78under, various objects are stacked together with the shoe sitting on top. What was your reason for going with this structure?
I've always enjoyed arranging things as if they were a single scene, drawn to the state of having images, memories, and feelings all gathered together at once. Rather than simply displaying a shoe, I wanted to create a structure where the things I've long looked at are naturally placed together — like a trophy of meaningful things, and a small personal archive.
Q. The right shoe rests on the art books Parks and Mother, while the left stands on the E.T. and Jordan VHS tapes. What was your reason for putting it together this way?
This piece is less about arranging images I like, and more about symbolically telling a story about myself. On my body, my right side carries tattoos representing my mother, while my left holds tattoos representing my father and son — and that structure naturally carried over here. The left represents who I am now, as both someone's son and a father. So I placed the images that have long defined me on the left, and on the right, the books connected to my mother. This composition holds within a single structure the layers of family, memory, and the time that has made me who I am.
Q. I've noticed E.T. appearing quite a bit in your work. What does E.T. mean to you?
E.T. is something I've loved since childhood, and it now lives in my work as a kind of persona representing myself. E.T. was first released in June 1982 — the same month and year I was born — which made the connection feel natural. Strange and otherworldly, yet pure and warm at the same time, it holds the memories of my childhood and the perspective I've carried through to today.
Q. The ketchup and glasses charms were each hand-painted by you. Was there a particular reason you chose these specific objects? I'm curious what that instinct feels like — picking something as a 'trophy of your taste.'
Most of them are things I find myself looking at for a long time in everyday life — not because they're special, but because they're so familiar that they keep catching my eye. I feel that even small objects carry the sensibility of their era, and I wanted those quiet, everyday images to come together like small fragments woven into the piece.
Q. You've said that collaboration is about finding the intersection between what you love and what a brand wants to say. What was the common ground you found with 78under?
I felt that 78under's energy — always moving, always pushing forward — resonated well with me. This felt less like a collaboration to decorate a product, and more like a process of naturally placing what each of us cares about into a single form together.
Q. Is there an ultimate goal you want to achieve as an artist, or a project you've always wanted to take on?
Rather than setting a specific end goal, I simply want to be someone who keeps working for a long time — staying in a state where I can keep looking at and making the things I love. And someday, I'd love to spread everything I love into something that feels like a world of its own, inside a very large space.
Q. Lastly, do you have any words of encouragement or advice for those who keep marching forward in their own way, without stopping?
I think it's okay not to rush toward results. If you keep looking at what you love and keep moving, your own direction will naturally find its way. The strength to keep going — even when things aren't perfect — is what matters most.
PF. KAKAO 78under
CONTACT 1877-5784
OFFICE ADDRESS
702, 7F B-DONG, 59, SEONGSUIL-RO 8-GIL, SEONGDONG-GU, SEOUL
