Hidden hopes

Closed

is one of four painting which portrays human faces with their eyes closed in square canvas. These series were inspired by current political issues such as presidential impeachment in South Korea, presidential election in U.S.A and Syrian civil war. I found closing eyes conveys two ironical acts, both negative and positive. One is negative act in which one ignores or separates itself from the outside world as an immediate response to unpleasant moment. The other is positive act in which one intentionally closes eyes to find inner self for peaceful mind. I supposed this is closely related to what people feel about present time. There are two extreme situations in which individuals search for peace, but the world seems to hard to see or confront with their own eyes. Looking at the blank canvas lead me to an idea how to apply a context on street art. Street art is a form which can usually be seen in urban areas, especially on street walls. The walls are pasted with layers of billboards, sprayed graffitis or painted cartoonish characters. These wall arts influenced the public about conflicts between political and cultural issues. Canvas are filled with paper layers of face drawing cut outs to give the feel of rough textures of walls. These cut out faces do not directly reach out and give messages, but certainly they raise curiosity in the viewers. Painted beneath these cut out faces are abstract shapes which reminds of graphical element from street arts.