I met Corey Malcolm Lajeunesse in 2012 during the opening reception of the International Artists Community's group exhibition in Seoul called, "The Nude Collection." We both had photographs exhibited at this event at Gallery Golmok in Itaewon, Seoul. I liked his creativity and his artwork. In fact, it was his photograph that was used as the cover image for the event publication.
© Corey Malcolm Lajeunesse
Corey is from Saskatchewan in Canada. He has been an English teacher in South Korea for about eight years. He is a man of commitment; when he says he will do something, he will do it. I respect that in a person.
He began pencil drawing when he was a child. When he was about 10 years of age he obtained his first camera for the purpose of using a photo as a reference for his drawings. Throughout his school years, he was responsible for the photographs placed in the junior high school and high school yearbooks. He became more involved with photography as a young adult. As it turned out, he was the designated photographer when meeting with friends.
After four years residing in South Korea, Corey made the commitment to improve his photographic skills. He took a two-day photography workshop, and he took the lessons learned to heart. He was especially touched by the "shooting in the studio." Soon afterwards he purchased his own home-studio set; he has been using that home studio for some time now. As his knowledge increased, his philosophy of art evolved. In his own words:
"...I found that I was going from being a 'visual reproducer' to actually having original ideas, and I've been running with it."
Corey told me he laughed a bit when he read that I referred to him as a painter. He doesn't think so, but I've seen some of his paintings. But then he developed the idea of body painting and developing themed compositions with models who have been painted at the studio. In my opinion, the results have been remarkable. I was intrigued by his Spirit of Nature project. This involved painting Kachina masks on models. I especially liked his Super Hero theme. Corey will exhibit some of his Super Hero compositions in a group exhibition in July 2014 as part of the Rock, Scissors, Paper art exhibition that will be held at Gallery I located in Insadong in Seoul. Read more about the exhibit on the event page over at Facebook
here.
He is genuinely a modest man, Corey, to the point of being self deprecating about his skills. I disagree, of course, especially in light of the fact that many artists and models collaborate with him on projects. His process of creativity is not complicated. In Corey's own words:
"I get an idea...and then ask myself, "How can I bring this idea to life?" My reward is simply in seeing that I have taken something from inside my mind, and made it tangible for others to see, and draw their own conclusions."
Corey hasn't a website at this time, but he tells me that he is putting one together. I look forward to that time when his site is launched, because I believe many people will enjoy and appreciate his artistic vision. However, some of his photography and paintings can be found on his art page at Facebook. To see his Facebook page, visit
Scorpio Studio.
Additionally, Corey also invites people to contact via his personal Facebook page that is found
here.
