A Hero’s Journey An Exhibition of Works by Justin Cheung

Justin Cheung has enjoyed drawing as long as he can remember and for a long time it was just something he did to pass the time. In the past few years he was really inspired by the pre-production process and art direction from Lord Of The Rings and many other films, which fueled his passion to become a concept artist.

Justin’s passion for concept art comes from the inherent need for objectivity within the subjective world of art. One must be fluent in traditional art fundamentals such as value, proportion, and colour theory in order to create a scene that tells a story, ultimately evoking an emotion from the viewer. Justin’s inspiration has come from artists working in the industry such as Bobby Chiu, H.R Giger, Ian Mcque, John Harris and many more.

The bulk of this exhibition is from his level 3 scholarship painting portfolio, with each painting modeled after a stage in Joseph Campbell’s hero’s journey; a story structure best exemplified by Star Wars. A hero embarks on an adventure, conquering trials and tribulations, returning changed from their experiences. This portfolio is about a cat who seeks out the world to replace the heart of a woman. The experiences the cat gains throughout his journey is represented visually through clothing, scars and mementos from friends met along the way.

Currently, Justin is 18 years old. He gained a painting scholarship in 2018 and came second in Youbee College’s National Concept Art Competition. Next year he will be pursuing a bachelor’s degree in concept design to further his chances of becoming a concept artist. For now, Justin is continuing to study and practice with various mediums such as acrylic and digital, in order to produce work closer to photo realism from imagination.

View Justin’s skillful work on display in the CAN foyer for the month of January.