#117 - Seonna Hong - Hand Finished Print #2
#117 - Seonna Hong - Hand Finished Print #2
Destination: Cusco, Peru
Date: 7 - 14 September, 2025
About Seonna Hong
Born and (mostly) raised in beautiful Southern California, Seonna Hong combines her personal narrative with broader visual storytelling, resulting in paintings that are mysteriously touching. Her artworks are influenced by her time teaching children as well as her work in TV and Feature animation. Intertwining figurative painting within abstracted landscapes, she captures memories of childhood and the dreamy and sometimes horrific landscapes of our innermost thoughts.
You can find more work of Seonna on her website: www.seonnahong.com
Destination: Cusco, Peru
Cusco is a historic city nestled in the Andes Mountains, and was once the capital of the Inca Empire. It is also very close to sites such as Machu Picchu, the Sacred Valley and the Rainbow mountains. These mountains gained their name due to the multi colored stripes in hues of red, yellow, green, and lavender, caused by layers of mineral-rich sedimentary rock.
Details about the print
Dimensions: ± 50 x 70 cm
Medium: silkscreen print
Edition: edition of 50, signed and numbered by the artist
A little word from Seonna…
Peru has always been one of those bucket list destinations for me and when I first saw images of Vinicunca (The Rainbow Mountains) I knew I had to go there. They looked like actualizations of my paintings, maybe even more surreal in their reality. I was excited to see the color and grandeur of the mountains and the vibrancy of the culture. I was ready to be inspired!
While my visits to Vinicunca and Machu Picchu knocked my socks off, the surprise was a lesser known spot called the Red Valley. The landscape looked like Mars with red dirt and other worldly striations, punctuated by black scraggly rocks that looked like meteors. There was a moment when I was able to separate from the crowd and hike alone back to the bus and all I could hear was my breath and the wind and my steps in the dirt and I felt at peace. During my whole trip I felt wonder and awe and that beautiful feeling of insignificance. I was reminded too, that even when the world feels particularly heartbreaking and terrible, there is still great beauty in it.
I created an amalgamation of the landscapes I experienced and walked through in Peru. I tried to capture the scale and the vibrancy, two things that indelibly made their mark on me. The two women are representative of past and future and the landscape is the present, something that is difficult for me to stay in, but something that I was completely able to immerse myself in during this trip and I am ever grateful.
Original artworks available
Travel Diary
Monday, September 8, 2025
Arrival in Cusco, Peru
Someone once told me that you cry more easily on airplanes because altitude heightens your emotions. I don’t know if it’s that, or simply the overwhelming gratitude I feel for The Jaunt sending me to Cusco, Peru—but I’ve been on the verge of tears since I arrived. I let out an audible gasp when I looked out at the view from my hotel room. I teared up over a beautiful Peruvian lunch, and once more while sitting with my guide as he carefully went over the details of my Machu Picchu journey. I mean, who doesn’t get emotional going over departure and arrival times?!
Altitude or not—I’m feeling it. Just as I fully stand by sobbing through My Old Ass on a recent flight, I stand by the awe and swell of gratitude I have for being in this beautiful place. thank you The Jaunt!
Tuesday, September 9, 2025
Day 2 in Peru: Machu Picchu and Aguas Calientes
Started out pre-dawn to take a van, a train and then a bus to Machu Picchu. Who am I, John Candy? So worth it though, getting to see the beautiful landscape pass by out the window en route and of course Machu Picchu itself, high up in the clouds… it was truly breathtaking. Oh and I saw llamas!
Wednesday, September 10, 2025
My new alpaca friend and lovely Quechua woma
Museo de Arte Precolombino
Delicious pie
Scored some beautiful work from a street vendor
Along the streets of San Blas
Traditional Textile Center of Cusco
Thursday, September 11, 2025
I really did think I was holding a baby alpaca all day today at the Pisac Market
Ccaccaccollo Women’s Weaving Cooperative
Pisac Ruins
Ollantaytambo Ruins and me, doing this pose since 1985
Thursday, September 11, 2025
Vinicunca, or “Rainbow Mountain” (16,522 ft / 5,036 m) 🌈⛰️ — the impetus for this trip! The elevation is no joke. Even though I’m in the best shape of my life (I even did the stairmaster a few times!), I was gasping after the first hill so I heaved myself onto a horse most of the way up, then inched the rest on foot. The view at the top—those incredible colors striating against the dramatic blue sky AND llamas in sunglasses?!?! Worth it.
From there I headed into the Red Valley (downhill from Rainbow Mountain TG), which was a beautiful surprise. It looked exactly how I imagine Mars would—red (obvy) and otherworldly.
This whole trip has been one beautiful surprise after another, and I can’t wait to see how it impacts my work. A big, heartfelt thank you to The Jaunt for sending me on this trip of a lifetime, where my eyes have been razzle dazzled at every mountain peak and around every street corner. I am indelibly changed. Thank you!!!
