Seoul-based illustrator Yeon Ji Kang's beautifully thick-limbed ballerinas

The chunky limbs in Yeon Ji Kang’s ballerina illustrations are delightful and feel a world apart from the ethereal and dainty dancers painted by Degas. Green ribbons wrap round the thick ankles of these blancmange-coloured characters but there’s a delicacy and elegance to their actions creating a lovely juxtaposition.

The obvious and tangled markings give Yeon’s figures movement adding to the theatrical tone of the series, as well as texture and warmth. Composition-wise Kang’s put thought into the position and pose of her unique characters. While an interpretation of the genre, it’s clear each gesticulation is informed by her ballerinas’ real life counterparts.