An adult picture book comprised of intricate, surreal graphite illustrations that tell the tale of obsessive love and longing and the maddening, self-inflicted contortions of identity endured to fit perceived expectations and norms.
Copy Kitty explores themes of identity, belonging and love through a cat who painfully and continually reinvents itself in pursuit of adoration and an elusive ideal. Autobiographically driven, the narrative strikes a chord through common experiences conveyed authentically, with sharp perspective and deep reflection on the self-destructive consequences of perceived ideals and sublimation of identity.
The format of the book presents each of the highly detailed illustrations alternating with a blank page. Copy Kitty is based on a series of illustrations Kyung-Me exhibited at galleries in New York, which were met with strong critical acclaim. In 2018, work from Copy Kitty was featured in Artspace, having been selected on the favorites list from the New York NADA preview by prominent art collectors Susan and Michael Hort.
Kyung-Me is an artist and illustrator living in New York. She is represented by Bureau, NY. She holds an MFA in painting from the Yale School of Art and has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions in New York galleries and beyond. She is best known for her series of illustrations and debut graphic novel, Bad Korean, critically acclaimed by Vice, Huffington Post, and Hyperallergic.