Stories Beneath the Surface (text by Yun Chae-won, curator)
Fairytales are firmly rooted in morals and narratives that are etched deep into our memory. Artist Kang Eun-young’s creative world is an extension of that milieu. Her figurines are not only aesthetically pleasing but embody elements that trigger and spark our imagination, gripping our attention and enticing us to delve deeper into their narrative. Kang’s sculptures take on a form of humans, animals, and objects, which look as if they have manifested from a fairytale. To the artist, the exhibition is a stage where she showcases her interpretation of man. Human Note, a play of sorts written and directed by Kang Eun-young, emphasizes two human characteristics the artist finds most intriguing: irony and human nature. The artist sees irony as a fundamental aspect in our lives. Life is composed of contradictions; life and death, happiness and despair, joy and dread, and so on. We perceive these emotions and events as opposites, yet they coexist in our everyday lives, often instilled in the same place at the same time. According to Kang, these elements are inseparable, bound together by fate. Kang uses metaphor to capture contradictions; two young girls sitting face-to-face at a table, a blindfolded girl lying between monochromatic animal figures, and twin sisters sitting next to each other. The symmetric figures represent life and death, heaven and earth, existence and nonexistence. The space between the two extremes is filled with conceptual images that blur the line between the conscious, the subconscious, and the surreal realms. Kang’s thought on contradicting coexistence is further explained in the artist’s notes.The other keyword in Human Note is ‘human nature.’ Kang looks deep into our inborn nature, believing the world consists of unique individuals. Deep inside, each of us has a different story to tell. Kang plays with this concept in her series of sculptures where animals hang on the backs of blind figures. Human Nature is a fable of acceptance that refuses to denigrate the nature of others. Instead, it gently urges the people to share whatever wisdom they have absorbed in oneness. Kang lives an ordinary life filled with routines, but she hones sharp eyes that dissect her life and the world. Fragments of truth she has accumulated through observation are imbued into her sculptures. The stage she has created for this exhibition is partially inspired by her own life. It will be interesting for the audience to try and find a piece of their own reflection in her works.
Artist's note (Kang EunYoung) Opposites and contradictions coexist - life is adjacent to death; hate is the flipside of love. Some people can pursue their own happiness at the cost of others. The more we understand life, the more we realize opposites attract each other. The irony of it all has always mesmerized me. My interest in irony has inspired me to create these sculptures. Creation and extinction may seem to be on the opposite ends of the spectrum, but the space between the parallel is quickly filled by myriad daily incidents that make us feel an affinity with both. I wanted to depict fragments of complicated emotions I experience on a daily basis. I believe this aspect of life can be shared with a universal audience. Every moment is made up of contradicting components. Its accumulation is what constitutes our lived existence. The fragmented imagery that became the basis of my sculptures has been inspired by drawings and sketches that I have compiled over time.
|