When I held my first solo exhibition with patterns created through digital drawing, I witnessed viewers shedding tears in front of the paintings. Observing the tearful spectators before the lines entwined solely on the canvas made me question whether the painting needed to move as I envisioned. It made me realize that creating an “empty space” is actually a crucial function that paintings should possess, alongside the functional doubt of whether the painting needs to move according to my thoughts.

During my media works in 2021 and 2022, my efforts to create space resulted in artworks that forced my thoughts onto the viewers through animated compositions, incorrect object selections, and predetermined rules. However, as I entered 2023, I returned to painting on canvas.

When drawing on a two-dimensional surface, the most important rule I set was “not following perspectives.” Paintings without perspectives prevent thoughts from following the lines, allowing me to randomly arrange natural, urban, and fantastical entities on the screen.

Cartoonish characters easily break down the barrier between viewers and the paintings, while random placement creates confusion in the linear flow of vision. These visual devices in the paintings immerse viewers as if they’ve entered a game, becoming players who interpret the stories between strange entities in their own way.

Drawing a painting is equivalent to creating an empty space. The goal of my future work is for the painting to become an independent entity that freely converses with viewers and weaves their own stories.