Page 5 - 김연순 2024.08.07Wed ~ 08.13Tue 인사아트프라자

Artist
Statement

During my university days, one early winter, I happened to
pass by the “Cotton Gin House” near my school. Watching
the cotton being processed and piled up on a wheel-like
machine sparked the idea for my art. The sight of the white
cotton filling the space was profoundly moving and thrilling.
The softness, warmth, and purity of cotton bring back
memories of my childhood winters when my mother
prepared cotton-stuffed blankets for the season. The gentle
touch and comforting embrace of the cotton evoke warm,
joyful memories of curling up and feeling like a baby under
those blankets.
In the most challenging moments of my life, working with cotton helped to relieve my pain and build inner
strength. During the overwhelming period of my first pregnancy, which coincided with my marriage, my work
with cotton reached its peak, becoming a source of inspiration and solace.
Cotton as a material has its limitations, leading me to explore various solutions. By combining the colors and
textures of wool with cotton, I was able to overcome these challenges and achieve the current form of my work.
The process of rolling and shaping cotton and wool led to the imagery of apples, inspiring me to create apple
objects and paint them in different colors.
In this process, I began to consider not just creating but also expressing through painting. Now, at over 50 years
old, I have spent seven years embracing this new challenge of drawing apples. I see the growth of apples on a
tree as a miracle, akin to the act of transforming cotton into art. Just as a small tree grows leaves, blossoms, and
bears fruit, creating art from cotton is a process of bringing something into existence from nothing—a testament to
the creative power of life.
I envision the apples in my work not as mere objects on a tree, but as symbols of warmth, truth, and happiness.
I aim for them to be full and enriching, supporting and nurturing life. Just as apples on a tree mature and ripen
daily, I hope to continue growing and evolving, embodying the essence of this process.
Just as yesterday's apple on a tree lives through the day to become a new, ripening apple each tomorrow, I
hope to mirror this process—growing and maturing each day, evolving into my own version of this continual
transformation.

Thus,
the title of my work is
“I’m Standing Here.”
July 25, 2024
from my studio in Seocho-dong

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