<2022 Everyday Moments>

As I experienced marriage, childbirth, and child-rearing, there were significant changes in my life and career direction. It led me to discover the material for my work, which involves observing and experiencing everyday moments and depicting them naturally. My work now revolves around themes like mountains, parenting, and becoming one with my child. Spending 24 hours a day, every day without a break, has made these shared moments with my child a natural part of my daily life, which became the focal point of my artistic expression.

I encountered sparkling moments that I had never experienced before while raising my child. These moments brought conflicting emotions like anticipation, happiness, pride, frustration, and anxiety all at once. Expressing these ordinary yet special stories from my daily life through painting worked wonders. I put my efforts into capturing my child’s sleeping figure, determined face while trying to overcome sleepiness, their tiny hands and feet, their tender touch holding my hand tightly, and the thoughts that must be running through their little heads. It’s like a parenting diary recorded in pictures, resonating with novice parents and experienced ones alike, as they find themselves asleep in the memories of their own parenthood.

Taking this further, I started drawing my child’s attachment doll. In our home, my child forms attachments to various objects, such as a police car, a fire truck, a blanket, and a doll. The type of attachment doll changes frequently, ranging from a dog, a rabbit, a bear to an elephant. Initially, I wanted to create an attachment doll exclusively for my child, but the preferences for the attachment doll kept changing. Observing this, I decided to draw the dolls representing the 12 guardian animals of the zodiac.

The zodiac sign is something that interests expecting parents even before their baby is born. Accordingly, they prepare maternity goods and gifts according to the child’s zodiac sign. For example, 2023 is the Year of the Cat (Year of the Black Rabbit), 2022 is the Year of the Imjin (Year of the Black Tiger), 2021 is the Year of the New Year Celebration (Year of the White Cow), 2020 is the Year of the Rat (Year of the White Rat), and so on. The concept of the growth album is also determined based on the zodiac sign.

<2018 moment>

Life is shaped by our relationships and the memories created between us. We encounter various moments with family, friends, and lovers, and in the harmony of these moments, we find the meaning of our existence. This journey of relationships, memories, and reminiscences began with a sense of longing. Each moment we silently face becomes a memory, and with the passage of time, it becomes a cherished longing. Sometimes, the disconnection from our beloved ones leaves us with a sense of loss, and we live with a longing for that moment again.

This work began from this feeling of longing. Longing is an emotion that arises from our impermanence as human beings. We are finite, and because we live within the constraints of time, every moment shared with someone becomes precious and meaningful. Rather than letting the loss of our dear ones fade away into oblivion, we want to transform the preciousness of those moments into beauty.

This longing is not unique to any particular individual. It serves as a reminder of the significance of our existence. I witnessed the beauty of life in the simple gestures of people living and breathing in the present moment. Through the arrangement of these gestures alongside Jogakbo, a traditional Korean pattern, I juxtaposed figures in primarily grayscale with a patchwork pattern that features a combination of various colors. This contrast represents the changing appearance of a person over time. It’s a dynamic expression that reflects the artist’s yearning, creating a repetitive pattern work that soothes the ache of longing in verse.