Wookjae Maeng’s Surreal Animal Sculptures

Wookjae Maeng creates ceramic sculptures filled with animal characters. Often gathered together in stylized arrangements, Maeng's works utilize the shapes of these creatures in surreal ways that bare little resemblance to nature. This disorienting effect is intentional: One of Maeng's goals is to make his viewers consider humans' impact on the environment and the way we often thoughtlessly manipulate nature to suit our own ends. "In my work I hope to provide an opportunity — however brief — for modern man to consider the realities of the environment in which he exists, even as he continues his daily existence indifferent to it," he says.