I did these Asian ghost watercolors for the Inkwads group show at Grass Hut in Portland, which opens on Friday. My dad saw them on the way out of the house today (I JUST finished painting them), and expressed concern for my soul. “If you keep drawing ghosts, they’re going to come for you!”
1. Aswang - The aswang is a shapeshifting Filipino vampire that sucks the blood of unborn infants. At night, she ditches her legs in the tall grasses of a rice field, and she flies around with her guts hangin’ out, hunting for pregnant women and stray children.
2. Red Mask - The Red Mask (bbal gan ma su ku) is a Korean urban legend which finds its origins in 1970s Japan. She wears a blood-soaked surgical mask and she carries a knife. She approaches people to ask, “Am I pretty?” If you say yes, she’ll kill you, and if you say no, she’ll take off her mask and show you her horrific Glasgow smile, the result of a cosmetic surgery procedure gone terribly wrong. She asks again, “Am I pretty?” If you say yes, she’ll cut up your face; if you say no, she’ll follow you home and THEN cut up your face, and if you say, “You look normal,” she’ll grow confused and wander away.
3. Kumiho - Also known as the kitsune (Japan) and huli jing (China), the Kumiho is a shapeshifting nine-tailed fox in the Korean tradition. She frequently transforms into a young beautiful maiden, who then seduces a man in order to eat his liver. Sometimes she noshes on his heart too.
4. Kwishin - The Kwishin is that familiar Korean ghost characterized by a white face, long black hair, and the white burial hanbok. She has suffered some form of unjust death, and so cannot pass over to the afterlife until she has righted the wrong or performed an act of revenge. Koreans say that sleep paralysis is caused by a kwishin sitting on top of the sleeper’s chest and arms.
5. Minghun - Minghun, or the Chinese ghost marriage, is a wedding ceremony performed for a deceased single man, so that he has a wife in the afterlife. This can sometimes mean that a recently deceased single woman is located, married to the dead man, and then buried with him. Chinese readers will notice I totally fucked up the double happiness on the bride’s tassel; however, I’m quite proud of the knot.
All of these drawings are roughly 7×10″.
———————–
Inkwads
Hellen Jo
Brent Wick
Kiyoshi Nakazawa
John Black
Tom Neely
Opens at Grass Hut
August 7th
6-9pm
Through August 30th
(these are available for purchase online)
32 Comments
These are fucking incredible. The kwishin have been known to visit me when I take mid-afternoon naps. WTF is up with that.
these are the reason you haven’t been able to call me in the past few days right?
beyootiful!
the brothers wong!
vic, you’re either cursed by the Siesta Kwishin, or your body is merely paralyzed by the thought of having to go back to work once you wake up.
calvin, way to make a haunted girl feel even worse! :) I stayed up all night to watercolor; I’ll call you in about eight hours, after I’ve slept.
hellen, oh my freaking god. i love these! you’re amazing
Oh my GOD, these are incredible. Awesome inks and amazing colors. The aswang guts are great. And I love the little kitsune toes for some reason?
One of the more recent volumes of the Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service had a story derived from the ghost marriage legend. Super nice composition on that one, also.
I like to imagine these as trading cards. Haunted trading cards! SO GOOD. You ought to do a book :B
Gorgeous … and terrifying.
Where you been? Painting these and fighting off ghosts I take it
Have you seen that film Mystics in Bali? The protagonist gets turned into an aswang. It’s crazy.
I love babes and gore. Of course, these are so much more than just that. You’ve outdone yourself again. GO TO HELL
wow wow wow wow wow
ms. jo, you keep upping the bar.
they are all amazing, but I especially love the kumiho.
I’m gonna email the Aswang/Krasue one to Shintaro Kago, who did a whole book about Aswang jokes. You don’t mind, right? :)
fran: no YOU ARE
sophia: trading cards! I love it!
alex: I’ve been consorting with spirits in Gilroy. I get more work done here, because there’s nothing to dew
o.h.: I have actually never watched an aswang movie, though I ‘ve seen tons of movie posters; maybe I’ll start with Mystics!
Jenn: no YOU GO TO HELL! I saw your jam comic, you flippin’ talent-monger
Ryan: haha of course, that would be great of you. Now I just need to find this amazing Aswang Kago book!!!!?!?!?!?
absolutely in love with the Red Mask. daaaaaamn.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/samehat/sets/72157616683176318/detail/
really lovely.
Awesome awesome awesome!! I especially like the first two.
the line between want and need is invisible.
Turned out gorgeous!! I’m going by the Grass Hut gallery to see them in person this Friday!
Holy biszjnapolis, Hellen. This is so fucking good! That minghun painting I want especially.
I love these. Do you know Shintaro Kago? you prob do, if not check out his Head Prolapse Elegy comic, pretty amazing japanese ghosts action.
you’re all too kind. luca, you should check out the link Ryan posted in comment 12; it’s photos of a rare self-published aswang gag comic by Kago
dude the rotting face on the chinese dude is rockin.
:D
My roommate said you sent the comic and some postcard items even though i did not pay for shipping! My ass in in China so I had my roommate open it. I mean to send something over as thanks once I’m back in the states!
…
D: i am also afraid for your soouuuul.
Hellen, when’re you gonna grace us with your presence on Twitter?
NEVER!
Wow, those are freakishly awesome! FYI though, Aswang is more of a generic term often used to describe a variety of mythical (or are they?) creatures that shapeshift, feed on humans, perform magic etc. Manananggal is the more specific term for the creature in the painting (which is an excellent artistic rendition, no doubt).
if this was printed in Hustler mag, i would renew my subscription
hey xmabaitx: you’re right! I only learned my mistake a bit after I posted this, and the manananggal is the monster that I love the most specifically. Also, is that you, xJoshx?!?! I ain’t talked to yer in forever!
mike: are they hiring?
dang hellen. 25 comments and counting! I really wish I could buy one (can’t pick which is my fave), but I gotta find a suga daddy first.
Oh, here’s something about the Aswang: The aswang is an umbrella term of the ghosts in the Philippines. The “aswang” you drew is called, “The Manananggal,” the self-segmenter, and it looks awesome. She’s also known to eat the fetuses out of the womb.
The true Aswang actually eats the flesh of the dead. WoOoooOoOoOo.
Just being geeky. Thanks for the awesome artwork!
love your jin and jam comic and have been gifting them to friends in south korea while on a trip — (to try to explain the whole 2nd gen KA smoking/fighting/twins/church-going kick which i really relate to)-
and i just came to your blog and found this and wanted to share - i had this ambition to do all of Jorge Luis Borges’ Book of Imaginary Beings, and ended up doing a few, including the manananggal - which I heard about in the Philippines and which stuck with me ever since. Not good scans, but actually just photos of the drawings- at http://whoadu.de/?p=26
beautiful watercolors, beautiful !
helllen, yr so rad!
this may be relevant to your interests:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vxWMoAgPfg
i love this series, btw. sending a friend to pick up copies of some of your stuff this weekend at the expo. good luck on the award!
hi prin!!!
that video was very informative. Banana ghost?!! Thailand’s got some great ghosts, dude, and I can feel that translating in to new drawings and shit
There’s something about the way the the 9 tailed maiden sits down and shares a human organ that creeps me out. Brilliant.
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