For the most part, we want to see art that is colorful and beautiful. If the art portrays darkness, we tend to look the other way and can even go as far as to judge it thinking the worse, not only about the art but about the artist.
Why do we think this way? Why are we so afraid of the dark? Perhaps, it’s all the horror stories we may have heard when kids. Maybe, it’s because we have tasted its sour flavor, and we try anything to avoid it. Sometimes, no matter how much darkness something may show, we can find hints of hope within it to help awaken the light. Cory is a Dark Perspective Artist who expresses the dark side of the soul through his art to take charge of the darkness, cracking it open to let the light out.
Phuc Hoang, better known artistically as Cory Hoang, is a Photographer, Graphic Designer, and Illustrator currently residing in Chicago, Illinois. In 2014, he moved with his family from Vietnam to the United States, leading him to experience a culture shock that caused him depression. Cory was encouraged to grab a camera and take pictures of the city to help him get his mind out of the funk. This awoke the photographer in him, and as he explored places and faces, he found himself falling in love with this art form and healing more and more.
Whether it’s a photo shoot or an illustration, Cory chooses to elevate the dark concept to help bring awareness about the mental troubles that many people are going through. But Cory does something very beautiful with his art, adding a hint of red, a rose, or a teddy bear, representing hope, healing light, and tenderness. His latest art project, Black Valentines, can be explored on his amazing website, amongst others, such as Toxic Love and Joker Harley Quinn, to mention a few.
Anxiety and depression are just a few of the dark elements that many are battling. Darkness can consume us in the slowest of ways, torturing our minds daily to push us away from the light that we always have available within. With his art, Cory wants to make sure that everyone knows that they are not alone on this troubling journey and that darkness is not all there is.
Cory is here to remind us that art is healing, and it helps to deal with real life, and sometimes we must take a look at the madness in our minds and try our best to take control of it.
Not everything that shows darkness is necessarily bad, and Cory’s art is not bad at all. On the contrary, it is fascinating, mindboggling, meaningful, and to perfection. He knows how to captivate emotions into a simple line and touch the depth of our hearts.
There will be moments when we will feel defeated by the darkness, and bringing our light to life may not be so easy to do. There is no doubt that darkness is brutal and this world is full of it. But, there is also as much light and our job is to try our best to remember that and find ways to express it.
We are all loners in our imaginary worlds, and you can be in this world and you can create and be anything you want to, be anywhere you want, at any time you want.
Cory Hoang
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