People's Choice Award 2026

Sunkyung Baek

Lights on a Wet Road

Jackson's Art Prize 2026
Oil
Canvas
100 x 75 cm

£2,900

“I work with moments when a familiar space begins to fracture, both physically and psychologically. I am drawn to situations in which places we rely on for orientation or reassurance are quietly destabilised, revealing unease rather than certainty. My paintings attempt to hold this subtle point of transition, when a space has not yet collapsed but no longer feels secure. In these images, I remove elements that would normally provide shelter or reassurance, leaving behind traces, surfaces, and silence. This absence is not an empty void, but a presence of absence: a felt sensation of something that should be there but is no longer. As this absence lingers on the surface of the image, the familiar space shifts into a psychological landscape charged with tension and anticipation. I am particularly interested in suspended moments, when it is unclear whether the scene exists just before an event or already after it has passed. Rather than offering explanation, the traces that remain emphasise sensation, allowing the viewer to navigate the image through their own perception. Painting becomes a way for me to construct a familiar structure that has become estranged, holding a state of uncertainty that refuses resolution.”