The desire to connect to other people, not due to the of personal interest but for the appreciation of being together, still exists up to today. On top of the traditional necessity, such as the sense of political, economic and social stability, the people these days also require respect, affection and vitality from other people.
The Black City with Octopus I (Chicago, USA)_Digital Pigment Print_60*45 cm_2019
Greetings is what people to do reconfirm that they are a part of the same community. ‘Salam alaikum (السلام عليكم)’ would be the greetings used among Arabic speaking people to offer peace to the others as the same greeting would be ‘Shalom (שלום) in Hebrew. The word ‘peace’ in English indicates that the true state of peace is to be equal among people and therefore no one is attempting to rule or attack the others. The Hindi greetings ‘Namaste (नमस्ते)’ literally translates to ‘I bow before you’ and it means that one self is no better than the others, that we are all equal entities with the spirit of life and sacred fire inside of us. Numerous civilizations have vanished in the testimony of time. Many powerful empires that ruled many ethnic groups and languages in history only have traits of their glory days at this point. But still now, people greet and bow to each other, hanging on to the traits of intimacy and comradeship.
The desire to connect with other people eventually turns into the desire to have a wholesome, complete life. Only the intimate, personal relationship can show people that what appears on the surface is not the entirety of the person that one sees at the moment.
Garden El ideal (dream)_polymer clay, epoxy, acrylic board_30*30*30 cm(each column)_2019
Garden Eel (정원 장어)의 이상(꿈)
Black City, located deep in the ocean, is the site of living for Garden Eels.
Garden Eels are the protagonists who precede brilliant, colorful lives in this city. The Garden Eels, who has absorbed all the splendor of the city and had the city turn completely black, decide to wage of a war, ‘The War of Silence’ in the hope of being able to restore the full and wholesome living. In other words, the war is an inner battle to get rid of all the fake glamour they decorated their appearance, and to get closer to each other once again in their own natural form with honesty and intimacy. But in the end, they cannot get rid of the glamourous outer appearance they had for a long time nor can they leave the city that has turned completely black and bleak. Garden Eels argue that, even when the ideal that is considered to be only a dream cannot actually be realized, it is still better to keep the sophisticated ideal in their hearts. Endlessly betraying their own ideal, they still claim over and over again that the existence of the ideal is what dominates their lives. The ideal comforts the conscience. They often advocate the idea of liberty, equality and fraternity but in reality, they do not dedicate themselves to those ideals that much or are willing to sacrifice all that much. Just like them, the humans are often found to abandon their idea of ideal without too much inner conflicts.
Garden El ideal (dream)_polymer clay, epoxy, acrylic board_30*30*30 cm(each column)_2019
Close and Personal Relationship_친밀하고 사적인 관계
The reason for the numerous failures in the attempts to obtain freedom lies in the unintended side effect that comes from conveying each individual to go their separate ways and thus, the inequality between each individual keeps growing bigger and bigger. The dissonance and competitiveness increase drastically and the minority groups cry out for their recognition while being pushed to the side but the liberty as is, will not accept and acknowledge them.
Almost no one receives enough respects and complete understanding while numerous others submissively accept that the world labels them. There are just too many obstacles on the road to find out the truth. People disguise themselves in hope of giving fantasies to the others that they deserve admiration. Governments and corporations give half-truth and half-lies to the public. There are too many fabrications in the name of promotion and publication. All of which make the people, who are marginalized and ignored, feel more pain from being misunderstood than the pain of impotence.
The personal sphere of life has always been denigrated only as a barrier factor to the public sphere of life, when only the intimate and personal relationship can tell people that the other people is more than what seemingly seems to be the apparent caricature they glimpse at the moment. There has been no serious discussion and examination on what can be done to make the personal life cooperate with the public life without crashing into each other.
As we continue to remember our ideal in this bleak and black city, this is the time to take the time to reflect upon how we can find the sense of togetherness and comfort in this intimate and personal relationships between you and me.
Garden El ideal (dream)_polymer clay, epoxy, acrylic board_30*30*30 cm(each column)_2019
