Szu-Chun (Jun) Chen

Jun Chen ( born Taiwan, 1996) is a reincarnated amphibious spirit who walks on Earth as an illustrator and budding animator. She graduated in 2018 from Camberwell College of Arts, majoring in Illustration and continues to practice in this field as a freelancer. 

Her past clients include Japanese brand Earth Music & Ecology, ViewSonic, and Buono.

Jun’s creative process in illustration and animation involves a mixture of digital and analogue materials. She is drawn to works of botanical art, animals, the occult, and the esoteric. The works of James Jean, Leonor Fini, and the Japanese female cartoonist collective CLAMP have influenced her.

Her recent pieces delve into a fantasy world populated by animals with anthropomorphic qualities. The most recent feature the presence of frogs: she utilizes the frog as a personal avatar, giving them space and the microcosm to interact with each other in their world. The role of the avatars is to give the audience access to her world and to her subconscious.

Through the anthropomorphic narrative in her work, Jun explores the human condition and the intimacy experienced through connection. This is driven by the short story texts and memoirs of other artists, who include Marina Abramovic and Tracey Emin.

Her purpose is to create commercially viable works but also to bring humour to the audience. With a background in illustration, Jun finds the intricacy of visual development to be vital to creating an animation. In the near future, she hopes to develop and extend her illustration career with an asset skill in cel animation and enjoys the challenges of working in a collaborative environment.