아로새기다, When Light is Put Away | BHAK | 2021.06.24 - 07.10
Bo Kim values the beauty of imperfection, which, in Korean traditional culture, contains a meaning of respecting nature by accepting natural forms. She also embraces Impermanence, an idea from Buddhism which alludes to one’s dissolving into another through a perpetual process of cause and effect. The characteristics of incompleteness and decay materialize her paintings, which evoke the core spiritual practice of accepting impermanence.
While maintaining her meditative practice through honing the beauty of imperfection by cutting out hanji and layering them with sand on canvas, Bo Kim focuses on depicting the abstract personal narratives and emotions in her new series 아로새기다, When Light is Put Away. Just like the word ‘아로새기다’ (a-ro-sae-gi-da), which means 1. Engrave (carve) elaborately, make an elaborate bas-relief. 2. Keeping it clearly in mind, her daily routine of recording the emotions and thoughts through writing and taking photos has become a gesture of engraving them in her mind.
The hues of the time-specific images become her main resource of visualization in her paintings. Her act of painting on the first layer of hanji represents her recording of vivid memories of the day, where color gradually softens and lightens as it seeps over time. The added layers of the thin and delicately textured hanji create a foggy and washed away effect, reflecting the fading nature of memories and emotions. The gesture of painting another layer over hanji symbolizes her recollecting the fading memories. Finally, by the time she has finished placing multiple layers of hanji, the color will have slowly faded away to a faint hint, much like the thoughts, events, and emotions in her mind.
Bo Kim seeks to provide a relaxing yet solemn space where she could invite viewers to meditate and have an introspective moment with her. Her art is a visual metaphor for her mind as she steadily searches for who she is, thus finding serenity, relief, and peace.