YOONJUNG LEE
MY HEART FLIES #116 (2022)
Acrylic
gouache on canvas
91cm X 91cm
Through combining traditional Korean landscape painting with
modern thinking, Yoonjung Lee explores how the way people relate to each other,
and themselves, is changing. Her work creates a hopeful view of a future in
which our thoughts and emotions can live on beyond our own spheres of influence
and enable us to connect with other people, all over the world.
The series, My Heart Flies, was created in response
to the passing of Lee’s grandmother. Having lost this link to her past, Lee
found herself adrift, with so much that she still wanted to say and understand.
To help her cope with these feelings, she began to insert
paper planes into her landscape paintings. These metaphorical messengers
carrying with them the words and thoughts she now wasn’t able to express, while
at the same time allowing her to heal.
As the series progressed, the colours in the landscapes became
more vibrant, more reflective of where Lee was at in her life emotionally and
the messages she would send with her planes transformed from ones of regret,
confusion and loss to ones of hope, joy and excitement. Her messages changing from
personal communications with her grandmother to wishes for the world at large,
with the aim of inspiring others to find their own new beginnings.
This work, My Heart Flies #116, speaks to the chaos that can be found in the quest to move forward, especially following grief or a desire to change ones life. The planes (messages) move around in all directions and the landscape itself is confusing, with many avenues or paths presenting themselves. Yet at the same time it remains positive. It may seem chaotic but by going through this experience, and learning and accepting the many lessons, there will come a new tomorrow.
“I really like the words permeate and accumulate, as I
believe they are important factors in both human relationships and in art. How
a message or a person speaks to you, connects to you and then becomes a part of
you.”
“I work by layering several thin layers of acrylic
gouache. This process adds depth as the colours accumulate and then naturally
seep into the canvas rather than simply laying upon it. I believe colours and
lines are the most honest way to show my emotion and feeling in a painting. So,
depending on the story I want to tell, the lines appear sharp or round, with
each line representing the time of effort, the accumulation of process. The
water depicted in the landscapes, into which all of these lines eventually run,
speaks to me of purification, of wanting to keep the feelings you initially had
but knowing that they must change.”
“Since my early works were so focused on memories of my
grandmother I drew heavily on traditional landscape paintings, however the
scenes I am now creating are all virtual spaces, surreal in nature but intended
to connect to everyone. To be empathetic and modern and reflective of the new
world we now find ourselves in, its beauty and complexity.”
The interior of the A.SINGLE.PIECE gallery contained an interactive experience whereby visitors were encouraged to
write their own messages of hope on paper planes and throw them out into the
space.