Indulgence and Innocence: Irene Chung's artistic journey through guilt and pleasure in women's lives

Everyone has their blameworthy pleasures. Don't they? But what precisely are they? And why does nan conception of pleasance needing to beryllium accompanied by guilt look much prevalent successful nan female psyche?

Illustrator Irene Chung explores that presumption by integrating her journalistic and healthcare backgrounds into her ocular work. She highlights nan 'guilt' women often connect to depletion and indulgence and really nan conception shapes women's perspectives connected their bodies and influences advertizing successful nan Western world.

Currently pursuing her MFA successful illustration astatine nan Rhode Island School of Design successful Providence, 1 of nan oldest creation schools successful nan United States, Irene splits her clip betwixt location and her location metropolis of Taipei, Taiwan.

Her latest task began past summertime erstwhile she started interviewing female entrepreneurs successful nan food, vino and wellness industries astir their experiences of 'guilty' pleasures.

Irene explained to Creative Boom: "As a young female who went to a girls' precocious schoolhouse and has ever been surrounded mostly by female friends, I discovered that women person respective female-only shared wellness experiences and feelings that are difficult to quantify. Notably, location is guilt astir depletion and indulgence.

"I americium willing successful really nan communicative changes erstwhile putting these 2 other words, ' guilt' and 'pleasure', adjacent to each other. I'm much than funny to cognize what factors make women consciousness blameworthy astir their indulgences and nan reasons down it.

"I want to find retired what nan blameworthy pleasures are for women moving successful food, whether it is simply a decadent chocolatier aliases saccharine doughnut shop if location are any," she explains.

That curiosity is partially fuelled by a journalistic background. Irene earned her Bachelor's Degree successful Health Sciences and Journalism from Boston University. She focused connected these interviews to pass her creation thesis, centring connected nan taxable of womanhood and femininity.

Irene has already made immoderate absorbing discoveries on nan way, namely that nan subjects she has interviewed person learned not to consciousness blameworthy astir their indulgence immoderate more, choosing to do things that make them happy.

She added: "I recovered that blameworthy pleasance is not conscionable eating a portion of barroom - it is simply a conception that ties into someone's puerility memories, upbringing and individual relationships pinch nutrient and body.

"I americium excited and grateful for this opportunity for women to show their vulnerability but besides consciousness empowered astatine nan aforesaid time."

But nan activity is acold from over, and while she continues her studies, Irene is intrigued by nan astonishment her chap students person erstwhile they observe her less-than-traditional way to creation school.

Irene explains: "They mobility why I've chosen to do thing different now. However, for me, illustration is simply a measurement to pass and show stories, particularly for nan subjects I profoundly attraction about."

Increasingly, nan illustrator has been drawn to nan connected worlds of women, food, ceremony and pleasance - each of which power her upbeat work, which has been featured successful nan Boston Globe, nan Dana-Farber Cancer Institute successful Boston, and connected nan walls of La Vie, 1 of nan largest manner magazines successful Taiwan.

"My imaginative process starts pinch real-life study and sketchbook, and past I transportation these ideas onto my laptop and iPad to research much ocular possibilities," Irene explains, adding that, arsenic an creator successful nan modern world, she enjoys experimenting pinch different materials and tries to make usage of exertion by playing pinch different compositions and textures.

She besides enjoys nan effect that creation tin person connected group and regularly focuses connected nan conception of joy.

"Sometimes life tin beryllium challenging for galore of us, but by drafting these happy moments pinch truthful galore smiles connected people's faces, I consciousness for illustration my accent disappears during my imaginative process, and usually, group besides show their happiness erstwhile they spot my work. This is besides nan infinitesimal I spot nan powerfulness of illustration – to show stories, link people, and bring joyousness to their lives."