WATERSCAPE
워터스케이프의 의미는 ‘물로써 그린 물 그림’이다.
‘물’은 작품의 소재이면서 동시에 주요 기법으로써 그 속에 함축된 모든 생각을 담는 그릇이다.
우리 인체는 70%가 ‘물’로 구성되어 있고 대상물을 보는 주체와 객체 사이에 존재하는 에너지의 흐름에서 ‘물’(水)의 본질은 ‘물’(水) 그대로인 인간 본성을 일깨우고 우리에게 참된 자아를 느끼게 한다. 물질의 한 부분을 구성하는 ‘물’(水)은 ‘물아일체’(物我一體) 관점에서 빛의 에너지 파동과 감각적 인식을 통해 투명함, 무지개 등의 시각적인 효과를 주며 자연과 인간 모두를 하나로 묶어 연결하는 매개체로써 매질(媒質) 또는 질료(質料)의 역할을 통해 소통에 필요한 메시지를 우리에게 전달한다.
워터스케이프는 사물과 물질, 정신 속에서 ‘물’(水)의 본질과 특성에 대한 철학적 해석을 <루소의 자연론>과 실존주의 철학에서 찾는다. 행위와 사유를 통해서 인간은 내적 자아에 대한 성찰과 삶에 대한 통찰을 시각예술을 통해 승화시킨다. 결론적으로 시각화를 통한 존재론적 의미를 가진 ‘물’(水)의 의미를 고찰함으로써 매개체로 삼고 물질만능시대에서 ‘소통’과 ‘융합’이라는 이러한 시대적 화두를 워터스케이프를 통해 제시하고자 한다.
In my work I explore the art theory of ‘Sangli’, a principle or essence of things. It originated in the Northern Song dynasty, China for the expression of Jin-gyeong; reflecting the unseen providence of nature and visually investigating the subject of Nature's 'Sangli' with the formative expression of 'Ch'i'. The modern representation of Jin-gyeong was explored to follow the traditional formative spirit and modernize the language of the zeitgeist.
My works of 'MæSS_Purification' are about the metaphorical expressions of the universe, comprised of humans and nature, based on the idea that the universe consists of 'Sangli' which manifests in the landscape as clouds, mountains, and water. MæSS symbolizes the mixed meanings of mess and mass in the English vernacular. The word eludes to my desire to construct an internal order within the system of this chaotic modern society, with the interpretation of a monistic viewpoint.
With the formative element of 'Gyeul' that was expressed in the lines of my paintings, I attempted to express the essence and vitality of nature using the subjects of clouds, mountains, and water. The natural and organic lines of 'Gyeul' that constantly flow are flexible, dynamic and vibrant. I have been interested in expressing the unseen providence of nature as it's connected to the mind and feeling of human beings. In other words the rhythm and life of the natural 'Gyeul' is the product of the vibration of everything in the world, and the mind and feeling that exist inside human beings. The diverse and complex feelings, some calm and some tumultuous, are reflected in the natural 'Gyeul'. The 'Gyeul' of the mind of human beings is related to everything in this world and is indifferent to the natural 'Gyeul' which is the fundamental basis of the circulation of nature and the repetition and change of yin and yang.
The subtractive method of drawing was used in my paintings instead of the additive method, which is commonly applied, to express 'Gyeul' that symbolizes the invisible flowing source of energy in nature. It is a formative method to effectively representHuhwhich is the invisible, empty, and metaphysical in oriental philosophy. I employed an eraser and an air compressor to erase the surface of the paintings, which were coated with black graphite powder, and thus created empty lines and space to form figures. I simultaneously erase and create the figures. As a result my works were demonstrated on the blackened base with eraser or an air compressor as a glimpse into the irony and paradox of life by creating the contemplative space like inverted black and white photographs. It is analogous to the truth of our life, that makes invisible obsession visible, and finally calm by clearing away.
The use of intense and vivid colors in contrast to organic lines lead to my works rather surrealistic aesthetic experience. I employ erasing, revealing and unifying as a formative methodology to express the soft and delicate 'Gyeul' of clouds, while 'erasing' and 'revealing' were used to express the more dynamic and organic 'Gyeul' of mountains and water. I also used unifying by combining paintings and photographs for the synergistic effect of my works, to harmonize the merit of paintings and photographs within a single work. This idea is used to overcome the limitation of the painting medium, and further to accomplish the tension between reality and the ideal, representation and abstract, and material and immaterial, the real and surreal. Doesn't the space we are living in today exist somewhere between these boundaries?