Sun-Kyo Park's "Contact to the..." series is inspired by a combination of Tarot cards and Western quaternary novels. The artist believes that by combining the two together, a person can be analyzed in the same way as a psychological test.
The artist believes that by combining the two together, a person can be analyzed in the same way as a psychological test, in fact in the East, there is Sasang constitutional medicine, which distinguishes people in a similar way.
With this work, Park intends both to make the viewer reflect on what kind of person he or she is, and to demonstrate that the characters in his paintings do not correspond to the attributes represented, the artist explains that "attributes can mutate just as people can change as long as there is an obsession involved".
With this work, Park intends both to make the viewer reflect on what kind of person he or she is
In the four paintings the protagonists have their arms raised, but each one with a different hand posture. The one who symbolizes the air (a man dressed as a western aristocrat) is with his hands stretched out, he does not show his palms but his backhand, since the air can hide a potential or a weakness, those who belong to this element value intelligence, motivation and learning.
The character of the earth (with working class garments) has his fists clenched, as if holding the dust with decision, people belonging to this element are usually characterized by being realistic, calculating and practical.
In the four paintings the protagonists have their arms raised, but each one with a different hand posture
We can also observe love, forgiveness and everything that touches people trough water (the protagonist of this painting is a priest), hence the painting shows stretched hands showing their inner self, as a symbol of honesty and affection.
We observe love, forgiveness and everything that touches people trough water
In this exhibition the artist Sun-Kyo Park aims to do away with the negative connotation of the word ‘distance’, so the viewers begin to see it as an essential element for their own survival. Between the mind and the body there is a distance, and in fact without it our brain would not be able to tell us “You are hungry" which gets us to buy some food and satisfy our stomach.
Sun-Kyo Park aims to do away with the negative connotation of the word ‘distance’, so the viewers begin to see it as an essential element for their own survival
Sun-Kyo's intention is not to make us decide whether to have a more spiritual or a more physical relationship with the world, but to understand that both are essential in equal measure in order to cope with our own existence. Therefore, to really understand the inner self of another person, we must know their physical and mental reality.
Beginning to see the distance in everything means never seeing anything else statically and completely again. Once we internalize this vision, physical contact becomes even more important, and we appreciate ending distance for a few moments by being able to touch, to embrace the other, to become one.
Beginning to see the distance in everything means never seeing anything else statically and completely again.