Some artwork shouts. Some artwork simply talks to you - quietly, in a way that doesn't demand your attention but invites you to seek it out. Simji Park's illustrations belong firmly to the second category.
Simji is a Korean artist currently living and working in the Netherlands. Alongside her own practice, she teaches animation, but her personal work lives in an entirely different space, one shaped by emotion, memory and the moments of everyday life we usually don't even notice. Now, that world becomes part of DAE's collection.
A Style That Explains Nothing - and Says Everything
When asked to describe her own style, Simji's answer was simple and precise: soft, poetic, understated. For her, an image doesn't need to explain itself, it should leave room for the viewer to bring their own interpretation. She's drawn to what exists beneath the surface, not what sits on top of it.
That approach isn't incidental. Most of her inspiration comes from everyday experience - small emotional shifts, easy to overlook, ordinary moments that turn out to carry far more weight than they first appear to.
A Process That Begins With Words
What's striking is that Simji's creative process doesn't start with drawing, it starts with writing. She collects thoughts, memories and fragments of conversation long before any of it becomes a visual idea. By the time an illustration takes shape, it already carries its own small, textual history, a note that only later becomes line and color.
What Viewers Find, Even If They Don't Expect It
Simji hopes her work offers a moment of quiet reflection. Not an answer, not an explanation, just a pause, in which someone might recognize a piece of themselves and feel a little less alone.
Even when asked about her favorite piece, she says it's hard to choose. The work she values most is usually the one that teaches her something new, or helps her understand herself a little better. Each project, to her, isn't a finished statement, it's part of a longer conversation.
What She's Working On Now
At the moment, Simji is developing an autobiographical visual narrative that combines illustration and storytelling - a personal project shaped by her own experiences, exploring self-perception, vulnerability and the slow, ongoing process of understanding oneself.
Why Her Work Belongs at DAE
Simji hopes that anyone standing in front of her work feels encouraged to share something of their own. If an illustration brings back a memory, stirs a feeling, or even raises a question, that means more to her than arriving at one "correct" interpretation.
That's exactly the idea DAE was built on - art that doesn't just fill a wall, but gives a space its own character. Simji Park's work is a natural extension of that: quiet, poetic and a little different every time you look at it.
Discover Simji Park's posters at DAE.