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A pixelated illustration of a snake against a black background. The body of the snake is filled with a photograph of a bright blue sea and sky.

Junhyeok Jang splices up nature photography then reassembles the pieces to make graphic animals

The South Korean artist explores intersections between nature and memory through his satisfying transformations.

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Date
27 August 2025

How does a photograph of melting snow turn into the silhouette of a polar bear? This is something only the artist Junhyeok Jang – who creates multi-layered graphic and photographic works – can answer. It all begins with his film camera: “I capture everyday moments and later extract fragments from these images to reinterpret as visual graphics,” he says. Addressing themes of environment awareness, collective memory and nostalgia, Junhyeok’s work are a corridor to connect two mediums, and the natural and digital worlds.

Junhyeok reframes the ordinary, opening the door to new meanings and associations. Using different textures and fragments, his fused photographic materials and act as “visual translations to encourage viewers to reflect on both the fragility of nature and the persistence of memory”, Junhyeok says. Junhyeok’s reinterpretations repurpose the old as new, producing compositions with depth and sharpness. But, these are more than pixelated experiments: “My aim is to create work that resonates with people through shared experiences, while delivering subtle but essential messages about the environment,” Junhyeok ends.

A 3D render of five green frogs arranged in a circular pattern against a black background. The frogs are composed of blocky, pixelated segments.
Above

Jang Junhyeok: Summer Field Frog (Copyright © Jang Junhyeok, 2025)

An illustration of three polar bears walking in a line against a white background. Each figure is composed of fragmented, mirrored shards of icy blue and white landscapes.
Above

Jang Junhyeok: Polar Bear 1 (Copyright © Jang Junhyeok, 2025)

A collection of pixelated animals scattered across a white background. The group includes polar bears, crocodiles, sharks, frogs and various types of fish.
Above

Jang Junhyeok: Photographic Archive (Copyright © Jang Junhyeok, 2025)

Two pixelated illustrations of a tiger’s head, stacked vertically against a black background. The figures are composed of orange, grey and black blocks with a textured, grainy finish.
Above

Jang Junhyeok: Tiger in the Reed Field (Copyright © Jang Junhyeok, 2025)

A digital collage of two fish shapes facing right against a white background. The top fish is a blue halftone pattern, while the bottom fish is filled with a sunset-coloured landscape.
Above

Jang Junhyeok: Salmon Sunset 3 (Copyright © Jang Junhyeok, 2025)

A 3D render of three crocodiles seen from above, arranged vertically against a white background. Their bodies are composed of repeating, blocky green segments.
Above

Jang Junhyeok: Crocodile Swamp (Copyright © Jang Junhyeok, 2025)

A pattern of 11 textured, beige shapes arranged in a diamond formation against a black background. Each shape resembles a stylised leaf or spade with a jagged, stepped edge.
Above

Jang Junhyeok: Sand Flatfish (Copyright © Jang Junhyeok, 2025)

A digital collage of six fish silhouettes arranged in a vertical column. The top three are filled with a cyan halftone dot pattern, while the bottom three contain fragmented images of a sandy beach and ocean.
Above

Jang Junhyeok: Sea Series 4 (Copyright © Jang Junhyeok, 2025)

A diamond-shaped grid of 3D rendered figures against a black background. Each figure is a pale blue, jagged form resembling a stylised, crystalline person.
Above

Jang Junhyeok: Flying Fish in the Waves 1 (Copyright © Jang Junhyeok, 2025)

A digital illustration showing five versions of a polar bear stacked vertically. The top three figures are white and blue, becoming increasingly fragmented and pixelated as they descend. The bottom two figures dissolve further into abstract, orange-gold patterns of dots and lines.
Above

Jang Junhyeok: Polar Bear 2 (Copyright © Jang Junhyeok, 2025)

A digital collage of two fish shapes facing opposite directions on a white background. The top fish is composed of fragmented, rectangular slices of a sunset sky, while the bottom fish is a red halftone pattern.
Above

Jang Junhyeok: Salmon Sunset 2 (Copyright © Jang Junhyeok, 2025)

A grid of blue, textured fish shapes arranged in a diamond formation against a white background. The figures are mirrored and repeated to create a symmetrical, patterned composition.
Above

Jang Junhyeok: Flying Fish in the Waves 2 (Copyright © Jang Junhyeok, 2025)

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Further Info

Jang Junhyeok: Sea Snake 2025 (Copyright © Jang Junhyeok, 2025)

About the Author

Sudi Jama

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Sudi Jama (any pronouns) was a staff writer at It’s Nice That from April 2025–January 2026, and is now a freelance writer. They have a keen interest and research-driven approach to design and visual cultures in contextualising the realms of film, TV, and music.

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