Jeong-Ah Zhang
You've described your art as a connection between consciousness and the unconscious. Could you walk us through your creative process? How do you begin a piece, and how do you know when it's complete?
When remembering the memory of seeing the interconnected nature of all things, I can't help but "feel" the greater pattern. But sense cannot arrive to the inwardness of things. We can only know what is true when we realize what is importance to us beyond what our senses perceive. This is my most important starting point for my art. I think that the most important thing in life is discovering who I am, and that's believing in myself. (It‘s a level of enlightenment that goes beyond the presence or absence of existence.) This being so, balance of awakening is really important to me, and that‘s a vital part of the whole process in my life. An exploration of the deepest reaches of the human mind. Meditation. I regularly meditate because meditation is about life and death, the phenomena of nature and the workings of the Universe, being aware, and making choices. It also shows that I need to be open minded and examine things from more than one point of view before I judge the object. For me, that’s a journey of awakening and self-discovery paralleled by a voyage of intrepid introspection. My art isn’t just for visual beauty, but also involves philosophical questions. Because I believe that mature works of art that never ceases to experimental contemplate prepares the soul to recognize messages of all heights of truth, all the expanse of goodness and depth of beauty.
I’ve always respected my creative process. My reason for this belief is based on that my creative process needs alternating periods of focus, quietness and reflection at each and every stage. But it's hard for me to explain my process, that's because complex some of which is very subjective. So this can be simplified to “Conceptualizing through direct and indirect experience.. A journey of the imagination.. Philosophical thoughts and methodological approaches, again. .. With (or sometimes without) a rough sketch.. When I've decided on a new plan, I start working on it.” My experience is that when I look hard and with reality-based symbolism at how these processes work, I can do them more efficiently.
Your work is deeply entwined with philosophical thoughts on existence and non-existence. Which philosophers or specific philosophical works have influenced your thinking and your artistic expression the most?
My surrealism is simply isn't just an exploration of the unconscious. It’s a question of will and philosophy. And at the same time, intrepid introspection. I think there’s a series of sort of underlying, other sort of visual realities that have come into play in the modern world. In generally, the objects of awareness are split between the intelligible world and the visible world. There may be a lot of answers but I think the importance is that the reality of the invisible world over the visible. This is a rediscovery of the stream of consciousness based on ancient Oriental philosophy, and the idea of recognizing the truth is linked to being beyond the material world with all the visual appeal. As I grew up I realized that everything is an illusion [-It doesn't mean that there is, or there isn't]. And my consciousness is based on inclusiveness. I value awakening and balance, and try to embody the meaning of existence and non-existence (or both) and the nature of things in an implicit and artistic way.
My life and art are based on my own philosophical thoughts and experiences. I‘m interested in the philosophy of immanence and transcendence on all beings. Basically, this means that I try to focus on the essence of life by establishing core values, and at the same time, I’m trying to sublimate it into my works. Philosophical considerations on a visible world and an invisible world.
Having traveled extensively in your 20s and 30s, how have these global experiences influenced your artistic perspective? Can you share a specific instance where your travel experiences directly impacted one of your artworks?
Would you mind if I asked you a question in a slightly different way? What does travel mean to you? To me, travel is about contemplating the meaning of time and space, and at the same time, the big question about human existence. On a side note, I went backpacking to about 30 countries by myself from my late 20s to early 30s, and rarely took pictures. Because my interest was not in the visible scenery. It was a time when I was thinking about the meaning of time and space, emptiness, and human existence, and this was before I became a full-time artist. [I'd like to add that while attending Ewha Womans University in Seoul Korea, majoring in fine arts, I also won the University Literature Award[-Play Literature Category] for three consecutive years separately from my major. And that led to me working as an assistant director at a theater company in Seoul, Korea for several years after graduating from university.] During that span, I even seriously thought about being a Buddhist monk with profound questions about life and death(-creation and extinction). What was surprising to me was the fact that, Paradoxically (and perhaps ironically), travel has eliminated the meaning of time and space. It meant a lot to me that a multi-dimensional virtual world where the boundary between reality and virtual has disappeared. And it was also an extension of the magical realism I experienced as a child. Clearly, It was one of the most important moments of my life, and that beginning, a first-hand experience of magical realism when I was a kid about eight years old. A voyage in time and space, Space is a wondrous thing that has no boundaries, And at the same time eliminate the meaning of time and space. It was a magical scenes, startling clarity, breathtaking subtlety, and a transcendental experience for me. Looking back now on that period of my history, I see plainly enough that it was a foreshadowing of my own identity. And, my inner voice reminds me of this every so often, and it still has a major effect on my life.
Freedom and adventure are the best things about backpacking. Freedom and adventure are the best things about backpacking. However, because backpacking is a series of choices at every moment, may encounter dangerous situations that are difficult to predict in advance. I won't go into more detail now, but there was even a time when I almost died while traveling. Instead of fearing and giving up, the actions I took due to a healthy dose of fear allowed me to escape dangerous situations. There is great power in shifting from a situation where I could have been a victim to seeing myself as a survivor.. For me, it was a bold journey with very intense philosophical concerns about my life.
While I wrote a lot of diaries in my native language while traveling, I only sketched a few ideas that were reflected in my work long after traveling was over. Representative examples are “Deep Silence”, “A source of Anxiety”, “Cherish Love for Humanity”, “Eternity” etc. And one of my important works, “A Nap” is one of the works that embodies my experience when I was 8 years old a very long time later.
You work across painting, photography, and mixed media. How do you decide which medium to use for a particular concept or project? Does the idea dictate the medium, or do you find the medium shaping the idea?
It depends on how deeply my experience goes in my work that I intend to do, so it may varies from piece to piece. I'm not a prolific artist and sometimes takes months to complete. I do my best every time I work, but I'm never in a hurry. For example, one of my ongoing works have already started two years ago.
You describe your work as surrealism that isn’t just an exploration of the unconscious but also a philosophical inquiry. How do you see your work in relation to the traditional concepts of surrealism, and what role does modernity play in your artistic expression?
I think what is important is not how one watches, but what one watches. The signified is created in the perceiver and is internal to that person’s mind. And, within that context that inner self, the thing that is even within our, that is even deeper than our sense of identity.. In this case, what exists is only the perceiver and the representation but no object. At the same time, it’s also a reminder that the material world isn’t all there is. At this point, I reflect specific philosophical thoughts and ideas that are different from existing conventional surrealism. As I said earlier on your first question.. When remembering the memory of seeing the interconnected nature of all things, I can't help but "feel" the greater pattern. But sense cannot arrive to the inwardness of things. We can only know what is true when we realize what is importance to us beyond what our senses perceive. This is my most important starting point for my art. This is because philosophical thinking goes beyond visible images and goes hand-in-hand. And I further note that modernity is good, but the eternal is better. What I mean is that modernity is indivisible, we can have all of it or none. It ultimately refers to the present moment (-even in any era) and it means eternity.
With numerous international and national awards to your credit, how do you feel these recognitions have influenced your career? Do they add pressure, or do they motivate you to explore further?
I don't know if I can say this, but it's neither. Of course, I am very grateful for the many great awards and honours I've received so far. But what I can say is that I think artists have to choose between seeing themselves and being seen. Creators who focus on looking inside themselves are not affected by external circumstances. And need to consider all aspects of this, negative as well as positive. I just do my own thing quietly, Just to follow my heart and to do what I think is best.
You often explore the relationship between humans, nature, and the universe. In your view, how can art contribute to our understanding of our place in the universe?
I think it is important to first take a higher and broader view of emptiness. Emptiness has been a word with many meanings, aspects and feelings from different viewpoints, in various cultures. Cambridge vocabulary uses “not sincere”, “sad feeling”, and “a state with no emotion or purpose” for emptiness, while in Buddhism it is called “the true nature of things and events.” While a western view of emptiness often seems to be negative, in some eastern philosophies, it represents a state of stillness and placidity to see through the illusion, which represents the “mirror of the universe” and the “pure mind”. Lao Tzu in Tao Te Ching artistically quotes: “We mold clay into a pot, but it is the emptiness inside that makes the vessel useful.”
I think all thoughts and consciousness are breath. The breath is the switch between the conscious and the subconscious mind, It’s a connected cycle of creation and extinction. And It's a soul resonance beyond the time frame. I think that's a natural, relaxed and serious way to look at the universe. I'm saying it again, because the idea of recognizing the truth is linked to being beyond the material world with all the visual appeal. It also means that the visible and invisible worlds are not separate, but as a whole. Art is born anew at a point where language and the written word cannot reach. In that sense,my art is intended to make the viewers feel and think, but my delivery is intended to make the viewers listen to their own inner voice. As an artist, I think there is a positive role for it, because I believe it has a genuine and honest ring to it. The true artist face the timeless truth.
You hope your art makes viewers think and question. Could you share an example of a piece that you feel has successfully engaged viewers in this way? What kind of feedback did you receive?
Could I ask just one other slightly different question again. What do you think is the essence of communication? I think recollection is one of the most important parts of human life, because It is evidence of existence as an integration of consciousness and unconsciousness. And recollection is the results and the whole process of all forms of communication. Let me add to that communication is a complex and sophisticated essay on memory, time, space and the meaning of action within the conflict between reason and emotion. I think art appreciation is no different, In some cases, it may be more direct and subtle. My art is not vague or flippant, but serious. And the whole purpose of my works is to make the viewer think and feel differently. Because the general way people looking at things may not be how they really are, and anything essential is invisible to the eyes. At this point, I hope that viewers will ask themselves questions and listen to their own inner voices.
I've received a variety of feedback from organisations and individuals on my works through many online and offline exhibitions and social media such as Facebook so far. Most of the comments were compliments and positive. That's something I'll never forget that my works, which may be difficult to understand and accept in some ways, have had a positive impact on viewers in many ways. In general, surrealism is relatively difficult to define, because it doesn’t portray the beautiful aspects of Earth, but instead show truth in a hidden form. And also because it involves the different perspectives, experiences, beliefs, motivations, biases, tastes and interpretations of the viewers.
For reference, among my works in surrealist paintings, “A Quiet Meal” and “Repetition of The phenomenon” and “Transparent Time Scale” are the ones that have received the most positive energy. But I want to say one thing. I attach equal significance to all my works, and I don't want to make rank.
Looking ahead, what new themes or techniques are you excited to explore in your upcoming projects? Are there specific goals you have set for yourself in the next phase of your artistic journey?
The past, present, and future are big words and concepts created by humans. My eyes aren't looking ahead, it's looking at myself. Seeing oneself means seeing people, nature, and the universe, and seeing people, nature, and the universe means having a perspective that goes beyond the perspective limited to the ego.
When I think back to the day that afternoon as a child that presented my life, and as ever, when remembering the experience of seeing the interconnected nature of all things.. The flash point of all creation in the present moment is immortality. It's a soul resonance beyond the time frame. As an artist, I try to listen to all the conceptions of all things, have an open mind and remember what resonates, and this is how I work. This reality of perception will constantly evolve through my experience and my work. And I just try my best at every moment.