I have dreams very often. Usually, I am alone in Mother Nature unknown. This habit of having such dreams started after I had a dream about the Grand Canyon. Ever since I dreamed that I was sitting alone on the edge of the Grand Canyon when I was 14, I have been having the same dream for 15 years. The puzzling part is that I had never been to the Grand Canyon, but I somehow knew it was the Grand Canyon. For a long time, I have thought about what this dream means to me and this has been something that I am still examining and pondering about in the present. Along with these dreams, I often have dreams where I am at a grand cliff or a lake, and this constant appearance of great nature in my dreams has influenced and inspired me for many years.
However, what I truly attempt to achieve in my paintings is not to describe my dreams, but rather to express Mother Nature, grand and awe-inspiring, in itself. I want to express the feelings of confronting Mother Nature and the force I feel from it. In 2010 I finally had the opportunity to visit the Grand Canyon. Although I could not observe it well due to bad weather and I was regretful at the time, looking back, it was a great fortune. Because of its continued unveiled existence, the Grand Canyon remains today for me even more magnificent, mysterious and mystical.
In order to express this, I began by painting simple landscape paintings. At first I depicted relatively specific landscapes that exhibited imposing and desolate feelings. However I started searching for a new approach because the definitive landscapes seemed to hamper the forthright expressions of energy and force in my paintings. While mulling over how I could express the force of nature itself without depicting it in an explanatory manner, I began picking up rocks. As I was observing characteristics of each rock, I started to express what I felt from them on canvas. Through paint and brushstrokes, I tried to express at times their subtle force, and at other times, the intense energy within them on pictorial space. Whenever I encountered beautiful scenery in everyday life I picked up rocks and recorded the time, situation, and my condition of that moment. In addition to gathering rocks that I find in my daily life, I travel to different places in my country and around the world. One of the rocks I picked up is from the Stonehenge where the gigantic stones and vast plains around it deeply inspired me. As well, I have traveled to the Isle of Skye in Scotland and often visit numerous mountains and seas in Korea in order to gather and research sources for my work.
However, what I truly attempt to achieve in my paintings is not to describe my dreams, but rather to express Mother Nature, grand and awe-inspiring, in itself. I want to express the feelings of confronting Mother Nature and the force I feel from it. In 2010 I finally had the opportunity to visit the Grand Canyon. Although I could not observe it well due to bad weather and I was regretful at the time, looking back, it was a great fortune. Because of its continued unveiled existence, the Grand Canyon remains today for me even more magnificent, mysterious and mystical.
In order to express this, I began by painting simple landscape paintings. At first I depicted relatively specific landscapes that exhibited imposing and desolate feelings. However I started searching for a new approach because the definitive landscapes seemed to hamper the forthright expressions of energy and force in my paintings. While mulling over how I could express the force of nature itself without depicting it in an explanatory manner, I began picking up rocks. As I was observing characteristics of each rock, I started to express what I felt from them on canvas. Through paint and brushstrokes, I tried to express at times their subtle force, and at other times, the intense energy within them on pictorial space. Whenever I encountered beautiful scenery in everyday life I picked up rocks and recorded the time, situation, and my condition of that moment. In addition to gathering rocks that I find in my daily life, I travel to different places in my country and around the world. One of the rocks I picked up is from the Stonehenge where the gigantic stones and vast plains around it deeply inspired me. As well, I have traveled to the Isle of Skye in Scotland and often visit numerous mountains and seas in Korea in order to gather and research sources for my work.
A place without anyone, oil on canvas, 90.9 X 72.7(cm), 2014
Rock-Sharpen Stone 1, oil on canvas, 130.3 X 130.3(cm), 2015
Rock-Sharpen Stone 2, oil on canvas, 130.3 X 130.3(cm), 2015
Rock-Black Cliff 1, oil on canvas,130.3 X 193.9(cm), 2016
Rock-Black cliff 2, oil on canvas, 130.3 X 193.9 (cm), 2016
Rock-Moon stone, oil on canvas, 130.3 X 162.2(cm), 2015
Rock-Prayer, oil on canvas, 25.0X25.0(cm), 2015
Rock-Mastaba, oil on canvas, 193.9 X 259.1(cm), 2016
Rock-The Burning Rock, oil on canvas, 53 X 45(cm), 2015
Rock-Heart, oil on canvas, 259.1 X 387.8(cm), 2016
Grey Lake Drawing, oil on canvas, 53 X 45(cm), 2016
Grey Lake 2, oil on canvas, 53 X 45(cm), 2016
Grey Lake 4, oil on canvas, 53 X 45(cm), 2016
