JOON YOUN
Come Back! (Take a Sour Candy to Shock Your Nervous System)
Oil on board 47 x 37cm
$1200
My practice explores coping strategies for navigating contemporary life. In a world saturated with information, images, video, and sound, the mind can easily become overwhelmed, slipping into exhaustion and numbness. It loops between past decisions and future anxieties, helplessly replaying scenarios beyond control.
When I catch myself ruminating, I shock my nervous system to return to the present. Come back! (take a sour candy to shock your nervous system) reflects one of these strategies. I eat sour candies to jolt my brain out of rumination. The yellow wrapper at the centre of the painting is my favourite childhood Korean candy. Even now, the thought of it triggers a Pavlovian response, and my mouth begins to water. For me, this simple act is a way of grounding thought back into the body, a reminder to stay anchored in the present in an overwhelming world.
When I catch myself ruminating, I shock my nervous system to return to the present. Come back! (take a sour candy to shock your nervous system) reflects one of these strategies. I eat sour candies to jolt my brain out of rumination. The yellow wrapper at the centre of the painting is my favourite childhood Korean candy. Even now, the thought of it triggers a Pavlovian response, and my mouth begins to water. For me, this simple act is a way of grounding thought back into the body, a reminder to stay anchored in the present in an overwhelming world.