JUNG-RAN PARK
Artist Statement
Everyone has probably played with Lego at least once.
When he first started, It received applause just by putting things together, but as it grew older, It started making shapes, and as It grew more mature, It made cars and castles with Lego, and created one own stories in new shapes. Anyone who engages in this game feels freedom and serenity through immersion during joy, creativity, and imagination.
It seems that Korean women also had this experience a long time ago.
After making the family's clothes, they collected the remaining pieces and sewed them stitch by stitch to pray for the health and well-being of the family and made Jogakbo ( traditional Korean patchwork)to cover the dining table or wrap items. While making Jogakbo, they came up with creative colors and shapes with unique designs. They also enjoyed the joy of creative play like children and the stability that comes from the quietness of immersion...
I find similarities between women's Jogakbo sewing and children's Lego play, a play that enjoys the beauty of lines and planes.
So, I took the lines and shapes of Jogakbo and mixed them with the joy of Lego. This work was a combination of lines and planes that felt like modern neo-expressionism.
To express this combination more solidly, I first applied traditional Korean lacquer (옻) to the Korean paper in three layers. This was to prevent Hanji from deteriorating and to ensure that the pigment was well fixed. Then, two layers of Hanji (traditional Korean paper) were attached to the back of the Korean paper to make it thicker and then fixed to the canvas. Then, a thick layer of shell powder was mixed to Agkyo (Traditional Korean glue) and placed on the Hanji (traditional Korean paper) several times.
In the combination of lines and planes in my work, I hope modern people who are tired of the harshness and hardships of reality is enjoy the feeling to provide relief from the nostalgia of the rough but cozy earthen walls of the neighborhood walls where they played as children, joy and stability that women get from immersing themselves in Jogakbo.
Through the combination of lines and planes in my work, I hope that modern people who are tired of the harshness and hardships of reality can enjoy a sense of relief into the nostalgia for the rough but cozy earthen walls of the neighborhood walls where they used to play and they can feel delight and stability that get from immersing themselves in jogakbo.
