Sujin captures the angst and drama of cool girls everywhere, making her coveted watercolor paintings immediately relatable. These girls might be up to no good, but they are magnetic nonetheless.

The bad girl complex often hides a sad girl, and with gender inequity universally prevailing, this is not an uncommon demeanor for many women. Sujin is an artist from Seoul, Korea, who depicts feelings over messages, and her work is best described through emotions. Her girls don’t have to speak or explain. One look says it all.

Juxtapoz: What are you working on now?
Sujin: I’m working on a series of drawings about motel rooms. Each room has a small story. It is composed of 20 pieces, and when I finish this project, I will make a small zine.

Are your characters based on people you know?
I’m inspired in several ways, by movies, books, photos and songs. I try to read or create a mood, so I don’t draw a particular person. If I drew a real person, there would be nothing to think about in the drawing other than that one person. I try to make the mood. It’s about feelings, colors, or some words for the story. I imagine and create new characters for the scene, which is based on a feeling.

Do you roll with a tough girl crew?
Actually, I’m in the middle. I hung out with strong girls and they’re still my friends. When I was around 13 to 15 years old, I could be a strong girl, but I don’t want to make trouble now. I like calm and quiet, and I enjoy being alone. My friends know and understand me, so it doesn’t bother them. And they’re not very tough. A really strong girl is my sister. She is a troublemaker. My parents had a really hard time when she was young. I don’t want to see my parents affected like that, so maybe that’s the reason why I’m a calm person. But sometimes I envy my sister because she is really free, confident and cool. It could be the reason that I draw kind of “bitch” girls.

Is your work really self-portraiture?
I didn’t intend to draw self-portraits ever, but they could be, because my ideology is reflected in my work. It’s my world, composed of my desires and fantasies. But I want to deny that I draw self-portraits. It’s a little bit shameful. I don’t want to show my feelings directly. That's the reason why I use imaginary characters instead of myself, and the characters have their own personality.

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Where do you get inspiration for their fashionable looks?
Old movies, photos and lots of lookbooks. And shopping! I like to draw fashion. It’s one of my ways to explain my works.

Do you have favorite books and movies that influence you?
The French film Fat Girl (À ma sœur). There are so many movies that I like, but Fat Girl is one of the best for me because it still lingers in my mind all the time. The colors, mood, characters—everything is great.

I’m reading Wuthering Heights right now. I don’t like it that much but for some reason, I keep thinking about it. Every person in Wuthering Heights is insane, I think. I don’t want to understand them, but it’s painful because of my sympathetic feelings. There is something that attracts me that I can’t describe. Maybe I will know when I finish.

What does your art help you communicate that is hard to convey in words, and what do you hope people will feel when they see your work?
It's hard to say what helps communication in my work because I don’t like to draw things directly. I hide what I want to say. I don’t convey something for communication. I try to draw the discomfort. My characters can’t speak their feelings or thoughts, they just do things to get attention from other people. Their behavior, look or vibe are clues about their feelings. Just show, don't speak. It's very passive. That's the reason why I don't expect people to feel something. Is that too pessimistic? If people feel something, it's really nice for me, and it's a great honor if they notice clues and empathize with my characters.

What’s your main focus with the paintings right now?
Making stories for my girls. I want to give them personality. They will think and act in my new drawings. And I’ve been thinking about seduction. For their distorted desires, they might do something more. I don’t know what they will do yet, but it will be fun... to me, anyway.

Would you ever like to paint a mural?
I really want to do a mural! It would be great to change the vibe of place. And If I painted a mural, I could make my own fantasy world and live in it! That would be really wonderful for me.

How did your style develop?
I have distinct tastes and draw what I like. I think style is dependent on taste, which makes your own style.

What’s your taste in music like?
I like rock mostly, and I also like to listen to electronic and jazz. Now I’m listening to Chet Baker, Peter, Bjorn & John, Beck, Honne, and Arctic Monkeys. I usually listen to punk rock and electronic, which is very noisy. It helps to relieve stress and focus on my work.

Where is your favorite place to travel?
The beach. I love the sea. The sun, colors and cool breeze. I love it all.

If you could live in a book or movie, which one would it be?
It would have to be a movie because a book is so expository. I don’t like to talk a lot. Movies have words, but they can explain things without words. I like images from movies that linger in my mind. I trust that images can explain everything I want to say. I like the moment when you see something and feel it immediately. If I have an audience, I want people to feel something before they think.

Are there any favorite female characters from movies who you would want to be like?
The younger sister in Fat Girl. She is very distorted but every feeling she has, like weakness, inferiority, emptiness and loneliness, makes her beautiful. Maybe she is similar to who I want to describe, but I don’t want to choose her because she is already a little bit like me. One difference is she ruined herself, and I’m not doing that. The self-destruction is very emotionally honest, though. For me, it’s difficult to express my feelings and I don’t even know how to describe them directly. That’s why I draw the girls. I want to be honest and not ruin myself.

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Originally published in the August, 2016 issue of Juxtapoz Magazine, on newsstands worldwide and in our webstore.