Seeing the invisible(Curator, Chae-Won Yoon)

There are many kinds of catalysts reminding people of their memories. Things like incense you've smelled or feeling you've touched. Such experiences bringing memories very trivial but forgotten completely to mind often provide an artist with an opportunity for construction of a work. 'It's Pouring', a title of this exhibition was also derived from daily experiences of the artist who indulged in reminiscences while listening to the rain at the work studio.

The reason why photographing was invented, as is the case of painting, was for reproductive recording to describe an object as it is. As time passes, there has been great emphasis on diversity of expression and subjectivity of a photographer, making the photograph an artistic visual language rather than a simple means of reproduction. Working of Okjoo Kang asks audience and the artist herself a question about what thing such a photograph shows and what potential a photograph has as the artistic medium. Seemingly seen as vessels for catching the rainwater, location of objects in the photograph was calculated and set delicately by the artist including details of the number, composition, interval and height. On objects arranged in such a manner, a prolonged blank hangs down, and a link connecting to somewhere imaginable subjectively is hidden. Such a presentation, though originated from daily materials, results in non-daily situations and experiences. In other words, it's possible for viewers to derive their own imagery only by seeing a photo simple objects are taken. So, object photos by Okjoo Kang take effect like an objet of ready-made articles that can be transferred into an artwork by interpretation of an artist. In 2012 solo exhibition <Objet O>. as the work was originated from discovery of forms from ready-made, the artist also discovers a part of herself and a potential of the expression from the existing objects in this exhibition. As such, empty washbowls and buckets put into the frame, being artificial matters, but show a paradox reminding persons of invisible memory or feeling. As the artist imagined this working while listening to raindrops, audience also expects to open the imaginary door while seeing such objects and bringing their own sound of rain.

On the other hand, in these works by Okjoo Kang, it's possible to discover a flow of rain on the arranged objects. Implicit expression of rain pouring enough to fill up empty buckets is a set of lines made by a graphic pen. Such 'digital streaks of rain' vague but deepened, are filled up with seemingly static but closely vertical and diagonal lines, making us feel a waterfall falling down heavily. In addition, considering details including brightness, blur, color reverse or contrast through the graphic program, the artist hopes to convey a vivid sense she remembers to audience through photos she interprets originally. If the former was to design an analogue situation, repeating trial and error, arranging an objet and waiting for its result tacitly, the latter is a digital expression filling up such a situation tried newly by the artist. The vitality such dual aspects create has more sensuous effect through print on the canvas rather than on the paper.

In Okjoo Kang's photos, daily objet, spiritual space its margin creates, and digital working tried newly bring the invisible but the sensible into mind. As such, beyond a limit of the artistic possibility of photographing, expanding such a range is her task, forming her own communication method created for mutual understanding with audience. Furthermore, correlation developed via these works will provide the artist with space for a new work.