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At first glance, fragments of plastic and wooden scraps appear to have been arranged at random. However, after closer observation, some sort of order is detectable. Rhythm and repetition exist in a way quite similar to those generated by a city under construction. Individual items do not resemble actual buildings or plants, but when grouped together, they appear to form a city.
In AHN Doo-jin’s work, a whole made up of one part piled upon another is not intended to display an integrated creation but a collection of heterogeneous parts. The two-dimensional painting pieces are no exception. One of his paintings, for example, seems to depict a plain landscape with a mountain and a spring. However, when viewed at a closer distance, the mountain and the spring are revealed to be an assembly of tiny planes ruggedly integrated into a whole.
The most conspicuous trait of his work is the use of unique colors not found in nature.
The artist employs florid, clashing colors rather than creating organic continuity. His choice of colors foreign to conventional painting is made to question the classical techniques of amassing details to complete an image. Through painting, humans have attempted to reconstruct reality as accurately as possible. Painters throughout history have sought to develop spatial composition and color techniques that enable a seamless re-creation of an entire image. It is not a stretch to say that humankind has finally taken its place at heart of the world. However, when men could only comprehend individual parts, nature and the world were uncharted and fearsome.
Does such a historical stance still hold true?
The artist’s work communicates a height that may have affected people from before the medieval age. It is threatening in its unidentifiable magnitude. By making the screens overly large or the installations exceedingly complicated, the artist does not allow the viewers to grasp an understanding of the whole. One of his pieces scheduled to be shown at the exhibition is also designed to obstruct the whole by connecting multiple screens horizontally, creating a cavern-like cylinder. The viewer has to wander around the piece to examine different parts, and an “omniscient”point of view is impossible.
This cavern is depicted from within. A faint light is seen at the distant end, arousing the hope of an exit. On the other hands, fear arises from the foreboding realization that there may be no chance to escape at all. This tension represents the charm of his work: the simultaneous confrontation between and coexistence of the part and the whole and the relationship of anticipation and fear. The artist’s power to both understand and control the object will continue to captivate his viewers.

By SUMITOMO Fumihiko/Arts Initiative Tokyo (AIT) Curator

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