"Layers of Serenity” signifies the attitude which paints ephemeral landscapes, the acceptance of all processes, and the layers that reveal this essence.

 

My work primarily consists of lyrical and serene abstracted landscapes. They sometimes begin as landscapes and evolve into abstractions, while other times they remain landscapes. The scenes I depict are often of lakesides and mountainous terrains at dawn or dusk. 

 

When I was living in London, I visited my family home in Korea. During that time, my brother, our dogs and me took an early morning walk near the lake to visit my mother. She is a Buddist monk and her temple is situated at the lake. While walking on that path, I felt like, ‘I shall miss this moment all the time.' The inception of my work was driven by a desire to create what I longed to see. Eventhough these days I do not feel homesick anymore, I still paint landscapes like mountains and lakes from my Korean family home.

 

As if standing still until the impurities of the muddy water subside, since I find stillness when I draw landscapes.

 

what I find when I draw the landscape is stillness. While working on my latest work, I feel like I am dancing on a crushed shapes. While the watercolor work on Korean paper blurred the longing, the recent silk work freely moves with colors on the screen. It is a way of playing with colors and the brush touches randomly instead of shaping purposefully, and there is a sense of liberation in the process. Silk is transparent and see through, giving the impression that it will disappear. 

 

The process of painting is the following: firstly, attaching silk to a wooden frame, mix a lot of water with the watercolor paint, and use a flat hake brush to fill the screen very watery. Secondly, when I paint on silk, I have to wait for the color to rise pale when drying. Thirdly after drying I check the color, repeat the process of repainting while adjusting the water concentration. Each brush builds up in layers, with traces of previous marks showing through. It's intriguing to observe the past colors and brush traces. 

 

When working with acrylics, the colors are applied as they are, creating a sense of catharsis. However, when layering, the traces of what was there before they disappear clearly, leaving only the matière, which gives a violent impression. For me, silk is a medium that accepts everything without erasing anything, embodying a sense of acceptance akin to my attitude toward life. 

 

Any trace is not flawed but has  uniqueness, and the desire for it to exist in its entirety. It reflects in both life and art. The exhibition "Layers of Serenity" presents ways to calmly face oneself in a chaotic era.