“Reason to Go to Universe.”
『It began with a sense of my existence. Until now, the topics that I have been interested were “encounter of the self and the world,” “the Heaven and the Earth,” and “the relationship between living beings” while exploring the relationship between the cosmos and humans.
The creatures living in the cosmos are connected to each other by a lifeline. That means energy, spirit, and vitality of cosmic life, among which beautiful creatures lie.』
Som Gallery held an exhibition from December 15th to 21st in 2021 under the theme of “Reason to Go to the Universe.”
『Recently, I became interested in ‘the cosmos’ while searching for my essence and identity from a cosmic perspective.
The cosmic characteristics, which are part, whole, as well as part, were intended to be included in the canvas.
In the relationship between the microcosm which is the humankind and the macrocosm which is the big universe itself, I drew thinking about the bowl carrying the cosmos, where the mind and the Sun become one; and the Heaven and the people become one.』
- From the artist’s note –
Artist Sang-bok Lee has been visually expressing her own beliefs based on the universe for more than 30 years. Here’s why the artist has been drawing the universe for a long time, in two main contexts.
- Recognition of Existence
The phrase extracted from the artist’s note is awareness of existence. As soon as humans are born and have an ego, they fall into deep worries. And the artist’s final journey of all relationships based on herself ends up heading into space.
From the relationship that began with her surroundings to all living things in the universe, everything eventually leads to one, and the artist expresses her perception of existence and relationship that breathe in the universe.
- The Artist’s Hope
The desire for happiness of the connected ones – friends, family members, etc – with whom the artist has established relationships with a deep awareness of existence is being objectified on the canvas.
In particular, the Tree of Life, the Relationship of Life series contain the joys and sorrows of the writer herself and her acquaintances as small creatures in a large universe. It is interpreted as a visual expression of author’s inner mind, reflecting heartbreaking experiences, happy moments, long-awaited wishes, and prayers for the happiness of all relationships in the future.
Above all, the end of all connections is the universe, and the artist captures the hope from the universe that holds all beings on the canvas.
The writer has longed for a long time with a firm belief in going into space, and we look forward to realizing the deep reason and future path of the artist to go into space by her works with the grounds for visual expression.
December 15th, 2021
Director Hyun-kyu Gong, Som Gallery