Kim Hyun Jung x Hello Kitty Island

Becoming an adult doesn’t mean the child within disappears. If anything, the more we’re able to have for ourselves, the more honest our desires become.

Wandering through Hello Kitty Island, it struck me that in the face of something adorable, age and dignity crumble easily. The urge to want just one more thing, even with both hands already full of shopping bags, wasn’t so different from begging for a toy as a child.

Perhaps growing up isn’t about desire disappearing, but about learning to manage it on your own. Naesoong: Can’t I Have It? is a work that looks at the childlike heart that suddenly surfaces in such moments, and at desire that returns no matter how often it’s satisfied.