Wandering Memories of Global Nomads : a Pop Up Show [July 6 - 11]
Pop-up Show
Brookline, MA
Date: July 6th to 11th
Opening reception: July 9th 6pm – 8pm
Address: Education & Community Center (ECC)
32 Harard St, Brookline MA 02445
Contact: Clara Lee
For those who seek a path in darkness
Your eyes will spark a shaft of light
So Heed, and let not be brought to nought
(by NoHae Park, from text accompanying photography exhibition ‘Andes’ in Seoul S. Korea 2013)
Four internationally travelled artists bring together unique interpretations on how individual memories transcend across cultures and geographical locations in contemporary times. The lifestyle of a global nomad, in which individuals travel abroad in search of inspiration and experience to enhance their practice is one that is more commonly being embraced by contemporary artists today. This sometimes means that individuals drift from one place to another without an established long-term residence, or in some cases, expanding their creative potential means departing their home for a foreign environment. The shift in cultural and geographical location directly influences one's sense of reality and interaction with their surroundings. Memory is the link that connects their past and present and bridges the familiar and the new. Unlike their tangible/physical belongings they take along their journey, memories do not require packaging to be transported from one place to another, hence is conveniently carried in the minds of the artist throughout their journey. Emerging from different backgrounds yet sharing the home country of South Korea as a commonality, these four artists currently based in Boston present works illustrating four keywords that each describe a specific quality memories. Together they investigate ‘memory’ as a concept that is deeply intertwined with their international experiences as well as their daily art practice.
Variance- In her photography work, Clara HY Lee creates multiple panels of works that re-use images of the same landscape with an abandoned tourist bus, altering the image in each work. In her wallpaper collage, the same image is rendered in 3 dimensional space by being projected onto plastic flowers then being re-photographed in its new form. This process reflects the individual’s variable experience of visiting the same landscape at over and over again. The same view can be perceived in a different way every time yet the perceptions can all co-exist as a bouquet of accumulated memories within our minds. Clara was one of the four graduating artists of the Boston/ Providence area to be invited to show in the 2014 Emerging Artist exhibition at Chase Young Gallery, Boston. (www.clarahylee.com)
REM Sleep- Dreams submerge with reality and takes on an organic form in the oil paintings of Sawool Kim. Each of her ambiguous yet vivid metamorphosis figures are drawn from memories of her dream, and has a function within the logic of the world described in the painting. They serve a purpose, which in many cases are symbolic of the role they are expected to perform in the common reality. However, numerous unresolved pieces still wondrously float in the air unable to find its ground in the logical mainstream, reminding us of the aspects of reality that cannot be rationally explained. Overall the works portray a world weaved of dreams, imagination, reality and mystery. Sawool exhibited in the 2014 National Prize Show with Cambridge Art Association. (www.sawoolkim.com)
Puzzle- The combination of delicate transparent paper and photography in JiEun Jang’s work focuses on the idea of memory as imprints of the path walked by the artist. They are traces of processes and progress. She folds and unfolds transparent paper leaving distinctive marks with graphite on the white paper every time a new fold is added. Eventually the paper is folded into a complete form and then dismantled to be documented as a photograph. The unfolded paper is covered with traces and marks of the intangible yet emotional references of her past that piece together the success of the present. JiEun took part in the 2015 New Talent Show at Alpha Gallery which was selected as the critic’s pick by Boston Globe in June 2015.
Memorial- Dealing with themes of social political struggles, DongJin Chung uses a mix of media ranging from watercolor to video projection in order to re-illustrate some of the most internationally discerning events of the current time. Drawing from the motifs of international affairs such as the Ebola epidemic, the works however focus on personal stories of the people involved. His motivation is driven by a strong belief that art can play a role in preserving stories that require remembrance by the public. He experiments with stylistic and methodical ways to express the complexity of these events, for example by combining an oil painting and a digital projection to show both the live footage and the emotionally charged painting of the same event on a single panel.
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