___

___Each artist holds a unique reason behind his or her artwork. I create art out of
___necessity?without this creative outlet, I am unable to cope with the daily
___challenges I face.

___The stages of my art represent snapshots of my growth.
___When I was going through a difficult period, I worked with rocks and boulders as
___a form of catharsis. The series of “floating rocks” came from the idea that my heart
___was as heavy as a rock, but that somehow, I hoped to let the rocks transform
___themselves into a form of pure freedom, releasing myself from the burden I felt
___those days.

___Several years ago, I found myself having to resist the temptation of working with
___flowers. One day, I made a red flower in the corner of a canvas. Strangely, that small
___flower relieved me so much; I loved what I did.
___I don’t know why I had hesitated to paint flowers. Was the flower, commonly painted
___by many artists for so long, perceived as banal? After being an abstract installation
___artist for so long, I felt afraid of going down this unfamiliar road.

___Once I started painting flowers, I could not stop. My flowers grew enormous in size,
___as if blossoming in jungles. I did not view them as beautiful. I saw them as the purest ___form of uncontrollable energy in the shapes of petals, leaves, and stems. I realized
___then that I wanted to paint “living life” and those flowers and trees were taken as
___symbols of that concept.

___Sometimes life is so beautiful that I am blinded by the extraordinary wonders around ___me. The image of life grows stronger and more vibrant to the point that it appears
___to be permanent. Then, in the blink of an eye, whole pictures disappear into abstract
___blankness. All that remains is emptiness and a memory of what was once there;
___I only see the instantaneousness of life. This is the “Life” that I see. Through the
___shapes of flowers and trees, I hope to recreate its never-ending dreamlike illusion.

___My work is about trying to catch moonlight within one’s hands. It is about the visual
___interpretation of this fragile, yet incredibly beautiful existence.

 

___September 24 2008,
___at the Shipyard studio
___Mirang Wonne