The Three spaces embraced by Bojagi

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Gallery JJ is delighted to present Bojagi by Kim Sihyun, showcasing the latest works that explore the artist's engagement with bojagi as a medium. This exhibition meticulously surveys Kim Sihyun's cohesive body of work, celebrated for its hyperrealistic depictions of bojagi and unwavering commitment to artisanal craftsmanship.

Kim's paintings feature intricately smooth surfaces that exude elegance and sophistication, inviting viewers into a realm of refined jewelry-like intricacies, tactile textures, and vivid colors. These images, rich with emotional and chromatic depth intrinsic to bojagi-wrapped objects, reflect Kim Sihyun's meticulous intertwining of bojagi's colors, forms, and the symbolic significance inherent in traditional Korean objects with feminine qualities. Through this approach, she constructs a new system of meaning within her canvases, revealing the material structure of her subjects while employing a painterly language that delicately recreates images on a two-dimensional plane.

In this exhibition, we invite viewers to move beyond the symbolism of tradition and perceive objects as sensory entities, abstract color symbols, or spaces for contemplation. Additionally, we encourage viewers to discover their own Precious Messages within the artwork, echoing the consistent proposition found in The Precious Message.

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1. Interior

When peering into Kim's artworks, the cloth covering enveloping objects becomes the focal point. Despite concealing the contents of these significant parcels, whether splendid crowns, hairpins, or patterns of gold leaf, our attention is captivated by their symbolic presence. As we immerse ourselves in these symbols, the act of enveloping and symbolizing in cloth is postponed, transforming the existence of objects into a fleeting illusion. Our gaze wanders around the periphery while the center remains enigmatic, akin to Barthes' notion from "Empire of Signs" that "the packaged bundle isn't empty, but it's empty." Through disguise, essence gradually disappears, emphasizing that 'not talking about what you want to say through absence' can convey a message.

Adorned with dignified and splendid decoration, the artist delicately conceals while hinting at the unsaid. Symbols such as patterns, hairpins, and lorgnettes are shrouded within visual elegance, enhancing their meaning. Within these empty images, symbols are produced anew, inviting interpretation and imagination.

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2. Bojagi

Bojagi serves a dual role of concealing and protecting objects while assuming symbolic significance. Prominently displayed at the center of Kim's canvases, the distinguished presence of cloth adds meaning to feminine objects with a uniquely Korean sentiment that prioritizes formality through the conveyance, storage, and embellishment of items with intricate designs. Props symbolically added create a new system of meaning, specifically integrating "The Precious Message."

Kim's bojagi draws inspiration from her mother's smooth, quilted bedding, reflecting childhood memories of watching her mother arrange quilts. The wide, smooth fabric and neatly folded bedding and pillows blended into a well-matched sculptural form, serving as both a communication tool connecting to the artist's identity and inner world. Moreover, Kim integrates global cultural elements such as Coca-Cola and masterpieces into this tradition, embracing modernity and encompassing nature and the world.

Viewed from above, a series of artworks with this perspective pursue sensory abstraction rather than mimicking meaning. Emptied and cleared spaces are filled with abstract symbols.

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3. Beyond

Within the picture plane, the bojagi floats suspended as if in space, occasionally creating an unreal, surrealistic appearance. Backgrounds seamlessly transition into real-life spaces within the artworks. Among these works are modified canvas pieces, shaped like bundles and crafted from finely polished Finnish birch wood, transforming into objets d'art within real spaces and expanding the infinite dimensions of the environment. Luxurious accessories such as courtly headdresses or hairpins may unexpectedly adorn corners of the bojagi, combining these symbolic images to express layers of diverse meanings.

The artist's depiction of ethereal space revitalizes the indicative meaning conveyed by the bojagi image, heightening depth and surrealistic sensation through visual devices and material characteristics. This contextual shift encourages encountering underlying messages, creating contemplative gaps beyond the bojagi image. Continuously experimenting with painterly representation, the artist invites us to look beyond and perceive what lies beneath.

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Juyeon Kang, Gallery JJ Director

edited by Brett Lee