Rapper Cheetah poses with her paintings at Hwangchangbae Museum in western Seoul, Thursday. Her first solo exhibition, "Voices Beyond Sound," is scheduled to open Monday. Yonhap
Rapper Cheetah is stepping into the gallery, trading her microphone for a paintbrush.
In her first upcoming solo exhibition at the Hwangchangbae Museum in western Seoul, the singer-turned-artist presents 22 paintings that trace the pulse of life across nature, animals and humans. The exhibition will open Monday.
Titled “Voices Beyond Sound,” the show turns its gaze toward lives bruised, sacrificed or silenced by environmental pollution and ecological destruction. Through these canvases, Cheetah said, she hopes to raise a more fundamental question about “the sacrifices made in the name of progress and humanity’s restless appetite for the next new thing.”
“These animals don’t know why the Earth is breaking down, why it’s becoming messier and hotter, or why they are the ones who have to suffer. Yet they still endure that pain. I wanted to capture that look in their eyes through painting,” the rapper said in an interview with Yonhap News Agency.
Using a mix of oil paint, pastel, crayon and sand, Cheetah conjures up a menagerie of animals on canvas, from horses and foxes to tigers, turtles and pandas.
The singer first entered Korea’s music scene in 2010 as part of hip-hop duo Blacklist before striking out as a solo artist in 2014. A year later, she shot to stardom after winning “Unpretty Rapstar,” Mnet’s female rapper competition program.
Her unexpected path toward art began during the COVID-19 pandemic, when live performances came to a halt for artists. Picking up a brush as a hobby, she soon found a new creative outlet.
“Music involves many staff members you can collaborate with and get feedback from. Painting, on the other hand, is something you must endure entirely on your own. It requires a deep sense of self-belief,” she said.
“Voices Beyond Sound” will run through April 4.
Source: Korea Times News
