From the Memory of Oneself, to the Other
‘The self’ can be both an existence that contradicts itself from within and an existence that mutually adapts. William Morris distinguished between the self as the ‘subjective self’ and the ‘objective self’. The former refers to the pure self, acting as the subject of experience, perception, imagination, choice and memory, whereas the latter which he named ‘the non-self’ includes all individuals within its object category. The self, as a subject, compares itself to others as an observer and becomes an independent existence that serves as a reason to distinguish itself from the external world. When an image lingers in the memory of a subject, sparked by the phenomenon of an object, that image comes to encapsulate the subject’s entire experience. The representation of memories stimulated by an object triggers emotional changes in the human subject, leading to the realization of a new creative image. The interaction between the subject and object of the self functions similarly to the bloodstream of the creator.
The existentialist philosopher Maurice Merleau-Ponty discusses the recognition of the self in his book ‘Signs’ as follows:
‘What commonalities exist among the philosophies grouped under the term ‘subjectivity’ which have emerged over the last three centuries? Could it be Montesquieu’s most admired self? Or perhaps Pascal’s least favorite self? Perhaps it is the self who documents or focuses on courage, escapism, detachment and capriciousness as well as has experimented and verified it as unknown?
Many creative actions by artists involve and depend on the following three elements: what exists, what is imagined and what is remembered. The presence of the ‘self’ in artworks often stems from inspired memories of the past during the creative process. Some artists encapsulate cold and dark memories from the past into their works, while others incorporate difficult and confusing memories. These past memories, for the artist, become motifs like mirrors that transcend the boundaries of time. It is because artworks serve as a medium for artists to reflect on their emotions and express their inner selves. When an artist engages in their work, the act of creation is not merely about bringing what exists in reality to life; it involves visualizing and giving meaning to the unseen, shaping it, and conveying the artist’s clear intention to the viewers. Self-expression in art is a clear manifestation of desire. However, it differs from biological instinct as it is a deliberate and intentional desire reproduced from memories accumulated throughout one’s life. The beginning of representation includes not only the subject but also the objects surrounding it. It manifests as a self-perception between the subject and the objects.
The artist Sung Yeon Hwa captures warm and fragrant memories of herself as an observer, derived from the objects which are her mother and father. She explores the senses extracted from her past memories in a very deliberate manner; her approach is both distinctive and independent. Yeon Hwa’s artistic expression is realized through physical interactions. It is the interplay of lines and surfaces. In her work, lines represent the past self while surfaces signify the present self. The powerful collision of lines and surfaces on a single canvas completes the identity of the artist’s work. This identity is achieved through repeated self-inquiry. Over an extended period Yeon Hwa has tried to break away from traditional conventions and her artistic career as a painter allows the subject to find the object. The lines, created using a dry brush technique with a medium-sized brush, collide with the settled surface which is influenced by the subtle colors soaked into the Hanji paper and the effects of paraffin. The expression, inherently inharmonious and without intention, creates tremendous mutual tension. Emotional restraint is evident in both the lines and the colors reaching their peak. A sense of calmness and warmth emerges from the collisions between minimal lines and minimal use of colors.
The surfaces appear during the initial stage of creation when rectangles are cut from Hanji, burned with incense and then arranged on the canvas screen according to size. Colors are then applied using the traditional method known as the ‘neutral color technique’. The color brown, which dominates the surface and encompasses the entire piece, has a symbolic and significant role in the recollection of the mother. It is also the color that encapsulates the fragrance of the artist and vitality. Brown is used for more than just toning down the vibrancy of blue or green and softening tension. Even as a monochrome, it conveys warmth. The visually composed screen also helps alleviate rigidity and coldness. A new technique employing Hanji and paraffin as materials allows for the flow from large to small surfaces within a single piece. The artist’s extremely minimal surface is connected through the fragments of the mind.
The lines are inspired by the restrained beauty of calligraphy work derived from memories of the past. They emerge as a result of repeated attempts to break away from traditional calligraphy and they manifest as attempts to abstractly conceptualize the lines. The artist boldly throws some abstract forms of lines onto the surfaces with complete surfaces in the final stage of the creative process. Each piece contains a distinct line that the artist identifies as herself. Once a line is placed, it cannot be moved or altered. Despite the thin and long nature of the lines drawn with the traditional brush, they can have a very powerful impact on the viewers’ minds. In this way, having only one line on a single piece serves as both the final act and the culmination of the artwork. It can be considered the last stage where the moment of culmination, the climax, occurs simultaneously with the collision and completion. It is a very challenging act, but the artist willingly attempts it for the completion of the work. It marks the moment of encounter between the subject and the object within the new self. In Yeon Hwa’s works, the quantitative imbalance between surfaces and lines is fulfilled through emotional balance, allowing the communication of structure and emotion to enable a poetic discourse.
The spiritual essence inherent in Seong Yeon Hwa’s works doesn’t immediately come across through visible elements to viewers. This is because the moments of completion extend beyond visibility, allowing the expression of emotions without restricting the artist’s sensory efforts to convey the warmth and tranquility of memories. Yeon Hwa aims for the pure purpose of instilling a sense of tranquility by incorporating auditory music, olfactory scents and tactile sensation. The artist is dedicated to conveying tranquility to the audience through an analog approach moving away from the digital era and drawing inspiration from self-memories. Her work aims not only to evoke the artist’s memories but to draw out the warm memories from the viewers, going beyond just making the audience feel the artist’s memories.
Jonghyo Cheong, Chief Curator of Busan Museum of Art