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99 ‘Art is the No. 1 torture for artists. But it’s not through making the work. The most diffcult thing is making contacts, maintaining them, fnding places to exhibit.’ —Martyn Thompson K orea looks a little different through the eyes of English artist Martyn Thomp- son: The country’s animals are encased in glass cages and its people are na- ked and forced into submissive, uncomfortable positions. Since 2008, Thompson has created works that offer Korea a reflection of how he sees it — as peculiar and twisted a portrayal as that might be. In his first year as an English teacher in Ilsan, not a lot of art was produced. “Like a lot of ex- pats I drank too much and did little in the way of productivity,” says Thompson. In 2008, however, everything changed. He met Kim Ji-hey, a sunny and beautiful Korean pixie girl he would go on to marry in 2010. He also formed the (now defunct) indie rock band Flying Maru together with Clint Richards and Will Edmund. They played around Seoul and Ilsan for a year and gathered something of a following, including a profile in Groove Korea (April 2009). It was while organizing a Flying Maru show at an expat pub in Ilsan that Thompson had the idea of exhibiting artwork there in addition to playing. He sold every piece he put up, which gave him the kick in the ass he needed to get his act to- gether and do more.