“Promoting Young Buddhist Culture with Splendid Paintings of Bodhidharma”

Artist, Jo Jae-yun, who wants the younger generation to be attracted to Bodhidharma and Buddhism, displays his Pop Art Bodhidharma series, a fresh interpretation of the image of Bodhidharma, which the Korean public is familiar with in ink paintings, in the form of Pop art. Su Sung-il, Senior Reporter

The image of Bodhidharma, which the Korean public is used to seeing in ink paintings, has been reinterpreted in the form of Pop art. The Pop Art Bodhidharma series, which portrays Bodhidharma with a stern face wearing splendid clothes clearly displaying luxury brand logos, is the work of Pop artist, Jo Jae-yun (44). Jo is also an electronic dance music (EDM) artist performing under the name of Badboss.

The painting of Bodhidharma is a Buddhist painting of the great monk who founded Zen Buddhism and introduced Buddhism to East Asia. Jo, along with five other artists, is taking part in a special exhibition, Why Bodhidharma Came to Seochon, in commemoration of Buddha’s Birthday, at 259 Nuha-dong located in Seochon, Jongno-gu, Seoul until May 29.

Jo’s works are mainly a collage of various textiles, including gift-wrapping cloth from the traditional holidays and the leather of luxury brands, with watercolor paintings. When we met him at the gallery on May 18, Jo explained, “The luxury brand logos I painted around Bodhidharma is the greed that exists in the world,” and added, “The halo behind Bodhidharma’s head expresses an image of a virtuous monk who blocked out worldly greed.” Meanwhile, the extravagant clothes the great Buddhist monk is wearing was an attempt by the artist to attract the attention of the younger generation to Bodhidharma and to Buddhism.

Jo learned to paint Bodhidharma and the Four Gracious Plants (plum blossom, orchid, chrysanthemum, bamboo) when he was in elementary school. The artist was born into a devout Buddhist family in Jinju, Gyeongsangnam-do and lived in a Buddhist temple until he turned nineteen along with his grandmother, who was the founder of the temple, and his uncle, who won a prize in the National Art Contest with a painting of Bodhidharma.

“I would get up in the morning and begin the day beating a wooden bell and chanting Buddhist prayers with the monks. In my twenties, I had a hard time changing my habit of putting my hands together whenever I met someone,” the artist said laughing.

Jo said, “Bodhidharma was a monk I had always seen since I was young, so he is very familiar to me,” and mentioned how he constantly drew the Buddhist monk in the pages of his textbook, workbook, and notebook.

His family wanted him to renounce the world and become a monk, but influenced by Michael Jackson and Seo Taiji, he studied music composition at Chung-Ang University. After graduating, he worked as musician and EDM artist writing songs and lyrics for the original soundtrack of TV dramas, such as Rude Miss Young-ae on tvN.

Jo began to seriously paint in 2020. At the time, he was suffering from depression after his work collapsed due to COVID-19, and he followed the advice of his friends and began painting again.

He was able to hold his first solo exhibition after a person from an art gallery saw his work. The exhibit displayed 38 pieces of work including the Pop Art Bodhidharma series. Among the works on display, his homage to Andy Warhol’s 32 “Campbell’s Soup Cans,” the “30 Cans of Richam” was popular among the public. He also drew attention for donating all of his proceeds from his paintings for the treatment of patients suffering from hard-to-cure diseases.

The Pop Art Bodhidharma can be seen at Buddhist temples including Jogyesa, Bongeunsa and Tongdosa, as well as at Dongguk University. Jo said, “I donated the works because I wanted to introduce Buddhism and Bodhidharma to many people.” He further said, “It really encouraged me when even conservative monks looked at my work and gave positive feedback saying, ‘Buddhism needs to grow younger, too.’”

Jo also released Pop art portraits of great people. On Independence Movement Day on March 1, he donated his portrait of the independence activist and patriot, An Jung-geun--reinterpreted in Pop art using fabrics from Gucci and Louis Vuitton--to the An Jung-geun Memorial Museum.

Last year, he donated the portrait of another patriot, Ahn Chang-ho, to the Seodaemun Prison History Hall. He is currently working on another piece on the theme of Kim Gu in time for National Liberation Day on August 15.

Jo plans to continue his work in the Pop Art Bodhidharma series. He said, “I want to tell people through my work that religion is not just a serious topic,” and added, “I hope the exhibit gives people a chance to come to the gallery, regardless of religion, and enjoy the artwork and learn more about Buddhism.”