Fragmented Memories of Seoul

"Fragmented Memories of Seoul " consists of forty-five pieces that can be grouped into five different color themes. Each group includes nine pieces of collage works. Each piece in the work is a collage made out of paper scraps that I glued together seamlessly. The series is meant to be displayed either as separate pieces side by side or as groups depending on the space and lighting conditions. 

 

My visit to my hometown, Seoul, after being away for a long time, became the inspiration for the work, "Fragmented Memories of Seoul". During this visit, I was able to gain a new perspective from the tourist's point of view of  and I was drawn to the old and new aspects that coexisted in the city. Upon returning to the U.S., I portrayed the scenes that I captured by recalling my memories of the city. A conceptual idea emerged while I was juxtaposing the old and new aspects I observed in the city, which led me to repeatedly go through the process of deconstructing my paintings into puzzle-like fragments. I painted the scenes on paper as they appeared, then I cut the papers into small fragments. Eventually, I reconstituted the painted scraps into a small scale of 4” x 4” piece, which was no longer fully recognizable. This result intensified the disjointed sense I had experienced on my visit back to Seoul.