Page 18 - 강신영 개인전 2024.10.16~11.3 여주시미술관 아트뮤지엄 려

Author’s
Note

Iron that became wood

Wood and iron my seniors, when all the art classes attended and did
When wood and iron, which are opposites, meet outdoor sketches. The third is a zelkova tree over 100
with an axe and an axe handle, they become years old in the studio where I lived and worked for
complementary. And iron that can cut wood can melt over 20 years. It showed a variety of appearances with
in the heat of burning wood. each season, interacting with the pond.

Tree Pond
The tree pond where I lived for 20 years is a treasure
trove of countless lives. The pond is a space of creation,
extinction, and circulation, and is a microcosm. I had
small memories with owls, magpies, native bees, and
carp.
One autumn day, the familiar scenery of fallen leaves
floating around the pond began to feel special, and
after that, the leaves made of metal began to be
a view of a pond 2006
reborn as water droplets, fish, and trees. Scenes from
The tree I am making is an imaginary tree made of fairy tales that I was writing were also made into
stainless steel, and it is a tree made of iron that does works. The work “Tree Pond-Ecology” shows fish and
not need water or sunlight. It is a guardian deity of the birds changing into leaves and returning to water,
heart that protects people, space, family, property, and composed of multidimensional space and light.
life. Heart Tree
“Heart Tree” was created based on a childhood
Relationship with trees memory of a village shrine tree. The tree’s wounds
I remember three relationships with my trees. The first healed over a long period of time, forming a heart-
is a 150-year-old zelkova tree near my hometown that shaped bulge. It is a structure that allows you
holds memories of my childhood. It is a sacred tree to go inside and see the outside, expressing the
that the villagers hold ceremonies for every spring and communication between humans and nature.
fall. I remember playing in the hole that rotted away
and looking up at the sky. Gemstone’s Tree
The second is an anecdote from my first year of high The image of a jewel is used to express a tree as
school art class with my art teacher, a graduate of precious as air. It is a jewel tree that holds water and
Pyongyang University, a first-generation Korean light and protects the world.
surrealist artist with outstanding skills. I still remember
that my painting of a tree was praised, beating out

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