Meet Irene Chung | Published Illustrator & Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Irene Chung and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Irene, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
I was born and raised in Taipei, Taiwan. My parents are both in the arts, so I was exposed to art quite early. Looking back, I miss the early 2000s when we didn’t have as much media entertainment compared to nowadays. Instead, I was enrolled in various after-school arts, crafts, and sports classes to develop my interests. That’s also how I discovered that I was pretty good at drawing. I am really grateful for how supportive my parents have been regarding my creative pursuits and interests. Their support makes me less afraid of failures and challenges because I know that, somewhere in Taipei, they always have my back.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I believe my background in journalism and health science sets me apart from other illustrators, and for my thesis project, I aimed to integrate these two skills into my illustration practice. My first illustrated journalistic book, titled “Guilty Pleasure: Women’s Perception of Health, Body Image, and Femininity,” is an eight-month-long research project that explores the paradoxical feelings of “guilt” and “pleasure” and why they predominantly affect women’s psyches. This book highlights the ‘guilt’ women often attach to consumption and indulgence and how the concept of “guilty pleasure” interplays with women’s perceptions of health and femininity.

I set out to interview 15 local businesswomen in Providence and Boston in the wine and food industries, which tend to supply products that women experience as both pleasurable and guilt-inducing, and in the wellness industry, which tends to offer remedies or virtuous alternatives to the former. Each speaker provided her unique perspective on guilty pleasures—what they are, what the concept means, and why anyone would feel guilty about them. From my research, I discovered many social, cultural, and historical elements woven into their personal stories, and rarely did a woman tell me that she doesn’t feel guilty about indulging in food.

This project not only explores the topic of food from a feminine perspective but also from health and sociocultural standpoints. Publishing a book is not easy and definitely pushed me out of my comfort zone, especially with pitching ideas and facing daily rejections. However, I thoroughly enjoyed the entire process of making this book. I am excited to announce more events and provide purchase details for this book in the upcoming weeks.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
When I travel, I like to take my time wandering around the city and people-watching at cafes. Among several coffee shops I’ve tried, I really enjoyed the matcha and almond pastry from Maru Coffee in their Hollywood location and brunch at Sqirl. I also like to go on afternoon hikes around Griffith Observatory.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There are many people who have had an impact on my life and to whom I am truly grateful. However, during my last year of graduate school at the Rhode Island School of Design, I would especially like to thank Elif, my best friend, confidante, and travel partner. She always helped ease my anxiety and provided me with emotional support. For the past eight months, I have been working on a research project about women’s guilty pleasures for my thesis book. As someone new to the publishing industry, I have experienced many self-doubts that almost stopped me from creating. Elif, also a second-year MLA candidate in the Landscape Architecture program at RISD, would take my phone calls at random hours and reassure me that everything would be alright. So far, we have traveled to Europe and LA to escape the artistic bubbles and create lasting memories. I hope we will be able to travel more together beyond our time at RISD.

Website: https://irenechung.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/irenechung.art/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/irenechungart/

Image Credits
image credit: Irene Chung, 2024