still life series_Red Dahlia Print

Since childhood, I dreamed of becoming a painter, but the weight of life led me down the path of an office worker. Even so, a small flame deep inside me never went out. Following that light, I eventually left my long career in 2017 and decided to hold a brush again. In the beginning, I didn’t even know what kind of painting I wanted to create. The materials, techniques, and expressions were so diverse that I wandered, unsure where to start. During that time, I began volunteering and tried to find my own questions and answers. Then, the questions that had quietly stayed inside me for years began to grow louder: “Why were humans born?” “And where do we go after death?” The more I tried to find the answers, the more I realized — perhaps the question itself wasn’t so important. Whatever the reason may be, humans live each moment feeling joy and sorrow, and through their hearts, actions, choices, and connections, the fragments of their lives shine beautifully. “Whether it’s karma or destiny — perhaps this very moment of being alive is the true golden life.” That realization quietly settled into my heart. Around that time, I happened to look at ivy and felt something deeply. The tangled vines reflected the many intertwined lives of people, leaning on and supporting each other. That is how my Ivy Series began. I began to wonder — how many stories are held within a single ivy, within a single life? Before such a journey, how meaningless are the standards of social success or failure? The deeper this realization grew, the more I wanted to paint in tribute to those who have walked their life paths quietly and steadfastly. “Thank you for all your years of effort. Your life has already shone beautifully.” From that heartfelt message came my Hwahap Series. Rather than focusing on the brilliance of flowers, I wanted to tell their stories through the shimmering mineral pigments beneath — expressing how every life holds a hidden light, and that each of us is the protagonist of our own story. First introduced at my solo exhibition in 2018, the Ivy Series and Hwahap Series continue to represent the two main pillars of my artistic world.