GATHERING & BARE FOOT
GATHERING : Digital photo, 80 × 80 cm (27), 2019
BARE FOOT : Wood, mechanism, dimensions variable, 2019
Installation view, Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea, Seoul, 2019
GATHERING
Ssangrimyeolbando (쌍림열반도, 雙林涅槃圖) is the last picture of an eight-piece series that depicts the Buddha’s life. The title of the picture is based on the story that the Buddha experienced nirvana under a pair of sara trees (Bodhi trees). This picture is often painted on the external wall of dae-woong-jeon, the main building of the Buddhist temple. In some cases, anthropomorphized animals appear in the scene, mourning the death of the Buddha along with the Buddha’s disciples. The background wall of Gathering has been painted in a color similar to noerok, or the basic pigment used as the base upon which painters depict the colorful patterns/images of dancheong often found in temple buildings.
The artist visited diverse Buddhist temples throughout Korea and took pictures of animals appearing in Ssangrimyeolbando. In his photographic works, however, the animals are situated outside the original context and are framed independently, and somewhat isolatedly. The animals displayed in this exhibition are mostly from the wall paintings of newly built temples, which represent a mixture of traditional expression and contemporary comic styles. In contrast to other works in the exhibition, Gathering emphasizes rich decorative elements. The paradox and irony—the undercurrent of the entire exhibition—are demonstrated in the most extreme way in Gathering. (MMCA)
2023 The Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art, Washington, D.C.
2019 National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul
BARE FOOT
At the time of the Buddha’s nirvana, there were two sara trees (Bodhi trees) on both sides of him. According to Buddhist scripture, the deceased Buddha extended his feet toward his loved disciple gasupjonja when he had belatedly arrived at the site. Only after this could the coffin catch on fire so that the other people could proceed with the cremation rite. In this story, we can discover the recurring image of “two”: two trees, two feet, two people, and the two worlds of death and life.
Presented at the end of the exhibition, Barefoot is deprived of all the rich cultural connotations, only leaving the iconographical frame of “two” that gives it the subtle undercurrent of the Buddhist stories. There are no trees full of leaves, no abrasion on the ascetic’s feet, and no image of the great saint present. In this way, the story of gwaksissangbu no longer conveys any emotional impression; rather, it implies today’s reality where such mythic stories can no longer bring about any emotional connection to the people. By eliminating the religious and literary “atmosphere,” “the aesthetic of two” becomes as significant as an essential and original simplicity. It re-creates the simple foot-baring incident of the myth as an even clearer and more contemporary occurrence. (MMCA)
