Heejung Cho’s “Perspective” celebrates the vibrant communities of Woodhaven and Cypress Hills. As part of her research for the project, Cho immersed herself in these local neighborhoods, observing how people interacted with each other and with the architecture and parks around them. She was specifically drawn to the melting pot of nationalities and storefronts that coexist along busy Flushing Avenue running under the station, an environment that resonated with her own experience of migration and adjustment as a Korean immigrant. “Perspective” comprises 24 panels of digitally printed laminated glass fabricated by Depp Glass.  

For Cho, “Perspective” serves a dual purpose – a visual playground of color, form, and texture for riders to decipher, but also a metaphor for inclusion and understanding. To design her six murals on the elevated station’s platform windscreens, Cho began with a “constructive process” involving the collection of found wood fragments from the Woodhaven area and other locations. Each wooden scrap contains different shapes and textures that become stand-ins for individual people. The artist then used woodblock printmaking to create imprints in a wide range of colorful hues, meticulously positioning them to form reimagined landscapes from what were previously solitary parts. While each wooden piece appears to meld together like a puzzle, Cho separates them with a thin white border to illustrate how various communities have found ways towards cohesion while simultaneously respecting different traditions and customs. Her assemblages also challenge the rider’s literal perspective, as the near-flat verticality of the fragments on the outer edges leads to smaller accumulations at the center, giving the murals a sense of depth and three-dimensionality.  

Heejung Cho is a mixed media artist based in Brooklyn, NY. Originally from Seoul, Korea, her artistic practice centers on constructing evocative spaces and figures, exploring the energetic connections between people and their environment through careful dismantling and abstraction of structure. Expanding her sculptural approach, Cho has developed a distinctive practice in woodblock monoprints through residencies at the Lower East Side Print Shop, the Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop, and the Women’s Studio Workshop. She earned her BFA in Sculpture from Seoul National University and an MFA in Visual Art from the Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University. Cho has held positions at the Museum of Arts and Design, the Newark Museum, and the Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts. Her achievements also include an AIM Fellowship at the Bronx Museum of the Arts and participation in the NYFA IAP program.