“Resonances of Inner Light”
My practice is to find my inner light of resonances related to color, movement, sound, light, etc. Resonance does not only express sound, but comes from personal experiences, dreams, and memories. My work is based on color, line, movement, sound, and light that respond to feelings (emotions).
I drew inspiration from my childhood experiences: my mother was a painter and an amateur Korean traditional dancer who introduced me to the emotional expression through art and dance. When I was preparing for the college entrance exam, I was filled with depression. The moment I watched a Korean traditional dance that was accompanied by traditional drum music. I felt freedom and a deep sense of joy! I felt free and healing from depression because the color, movement, and sound resonated with my soul.
The Dancing Installation draws inspiration from the forms, colors, and meaning of gang-gang-sullae, an ancient Korean dance that takes place during the harvest under the moon. Female dancers dancing rhythmically hand-in-hand in a circle. In the process of creating this work, I took the meaning of gang-gang-sullae, connecting feelings of hand-in-hand with others, nature, and the world. To create this work, I borrowed the garment of traditional Korean clothing (hanbok/ot-korum), which represents ideas of opening and closing, and connecting and separating. In the medium of each strand of ribbon, represents a single dancer, and connected one to another through knots. This composition represents one-ness, the connectedness, and unity between neighbors.
In my drawing, inspired by my daughter's figure skating spin dance, I drew concentric circles, using basic mediums of colored pencils on both paper and a wooden panel. I work in a repetitive circular momentum of my hand and body to form thin circles over and over, repeatedly combining two-toned or three-toned colors expressing resonance of energy and color. These thin circles created a translucent surface which appears to be expanding, a visual vibrating representation of feeling of joy. The transparency implies the work that absorbs, contains, and transmits light. I discovered that my approach needed to be in circular motions to resonate movement, color, light, and energy. The final product is as significant to the meaning as the process which created it.
In this work, resonances of light allow us to connect with me, others, healing, and joy. Through my practice, I learned that I can capture my inner light through color, sound, and movement. It was a healing process that connected me to nature, and through my work, I am able to interconnect with others, too.