By Sa Eun-young
Staff Reporter
Art has existed for as long as humans have been around, starting from simple cave paintings to the extravagant pieces of ancient Rome. So, appropriately, a veteran Korean artist is busy exploring ideas about time and existence through exploring art.
Japan-based installation artist Choi Jae-eun, inspired by the first human fossil found in Ethiopia ``Lucy" will hold a solo exhibition in Korea for the first time in 14 years under the title, ``Lucy and Her Time."
Choi, who went to Japan to learn the art of flower arrangement, changed her course to installation art and since explored various genres including sculpture and video art within this art-form. Among her many achievements, Choi was the first Korean artist to represent Japan at the 1995 Venice Biennale.
Many may have already seen her artworks. She designed the huge cone-shaped sculpture in front of the Samsung Medical Center, ``Direction of Time,'' and the stupa for the Venerable Songch'ol, ``Space for Self,'' at the Single-Pillar Gate of Haein Temple,
The artist's key interest has been to philosophically examine and express the meaning of time, space and the cycle of life through formative elements, which is clearly evident throughout the art show. She will showcase around 10 pieces of her work.
The namesake of the exhibition, ``Lucy," resembles the simple shape and structure of human cells, displaying a form that is soft, yet solid, empowered by the breath of life that it withholds. Just as the excavation of the first human, ``Lucy" represents not only the 52 fossils but the evolution of the human race, this piece expresses a journey into the marvelous mystery of life and timelessness. Moreover, it offers an opportunity to look upon oneself and ponder upon the meaning of existence.
The exhibition will also showcase Choi's best-known artwork, ``World Underground Project Gyeongju (Korea), Fukui (Japan) series." The series, done using archeological and scientific methods, was started in 1986 by burying preservative Japanese paper underground in countries around the world. In Korea and Japan, the pieces of paper were recovered five and six years later, respectively, showing results that were ``colored" differently by nature, depending on the various soil conditions. The work shows change that appears naturally through time, in a non-human environment, and raises the question of the meaning of time and existence.
Other works that will be displayed are ``Looking at the Star," a magnified view of amber, suggesting the image of stars in space that represent infinite time and existence; ``Timeless" and ``Unearthed Sky," which are extensions of her ``World Underground Project"; and ``Pleasure, Anger, Sorrow, Comfortable," a video installation expressing the four emotions through the motions of a prominent Japanese traditional dancer.
The exhibition will open on Friday and last until November 18 at the Rodin Gallery in central Seoul. For more information visit www.rodingallery.org.