Yena Choi is an illustrator animator who specialises in storytelling and visual development. Through her work, she has been exploring her Korean cultural heritages and particularly enjoys nature and small objects. Her skills lie in her character development and believable world-building. Her dream project would be to work in a collaborative team in the development of a feature-length film that is fun and immersive.
Yena’s Final Film ‘Dol’ is based on her discovery of the tradition of dol-tap (“stone-towers”) which are piles of rocks that symbolise hopes and prayers; found in the corners of Korea’s mountain trails. Inspired by the thought of countless stories behind seemingly insignificant rocks, she created a short animation with themes of innocence, passing on traditions, a wordless language of hope and a nod to Korea’s difficult history.
Born in Korea but raised from an early age in London, she has always been surrounded by a multicultural environment that led to her appreciation of the small stories behind different cultures and everyday lives. More recently, her art revolves around her own Korean heritage in order to reconnect with a culture that is so familiar yet distant. Through her work, she hopes to inspire other young British Koreans to reconnect with their culture, using art to overcome the boundaries of language.
Hi! My name is Yena, an illustrator animator who specialises in storytelling and visual development. I want to share stories, however big or small, through my art and look forward to meeting new people.
Outside of art, I’m passionate about birds, documentaries of all sorts, and exploring the world through Google Maps!