The traces of thinking that acts on its own

Just as a traveler repeatedly puts one step after another, the artist puts paint on the screen and wipes it out again and again. According to the artist, it is to revive the texture of the mind through immersion. Wiping off the paint that has already been painted seems like undoing an action and returning to the past. It seems useless at first, but the traces left on the canvas prove it has existed there. It is the place of thought created by conflicting actions.

Allowing contradictions and conflicts between different elements creates room for unlimited change. If the balance is successfully maintained, it will reveal a stable appearance on the surface, but it is different in essence from the rigid state from the beginning. It is a lively state of stability that can move at any time. Artist Lee Chae’s screen is an image of the traces of thinking that remained after repeatedly blooming from the inside and the balance achieved during a long journey.

While Lee Chae’s early works put more weight on the process, focusing on blooming the flower inside, recent works are devoted to revealing the flower to the audience more visually. It expresses the image on the screen, adopting the curved shape of plants found in everyday life. During the working journey, the flower of the inner self continued to grow both in the mind and on the screen. The artist’s mind finally became stronger, and the tender flower appeared in a lignified form in the previous exhibition, “Lignification.”

Trees grow straight upward at the beginning and become stable. It is the process of firmly establishing their position. However, trees cannot only grow upward. They must go through the process of spreading branches in all directions and expanding them. As branches and leaves become lush, the body overlaps with other trees that stand side by side. They exchange pollen, block the sun or the wind for each other, and build flexible relationships with their surroundings. It is the process of forming a landscape by embracing a wider world, away from a flower or a tree.

Flowers and trees also grow in the painting. Contradictions and collisions also happen in the relationships of different beings. Incompatible elements such as curve and straight line, vertical and horizontal, rising and falling, and wide and narrow show various rhythms and are narrowly balanced. The tension that rises from the difference implies the possibility of change to come and brings life to the screen. This also must be a vitality that stems from the artist’s inner self.

Now, the wind is blowing through the trees. The plants we see every day don’t look so different. It is because we overlook them. However, when the leaves are shaken by the wind on a hot summer day, we finally realize that the trees that have curled up and survived through the winter grew lush leaves during the spring and summer and that we have entered the middle of summer. We only know it once the wind blows. Growth comes together with repeated actions we take every day and small, unnoticeable changes, but the moment we realize it comes unexpectedly.

In the screen of the artist Lee Chae, the shadow of the wavering tree by the wind appears. Whispers of leaves rustling through blue light and shadow are heard. It is the scene where traces of thinking gather and live. Even if it is the trace of an event that happened inner self of the artist, another event now occurs from within the screen. Especially in recent works, each element is more closely involved, which creates a rhythm. Plants created by the artist but have acquired vitality by themselves lean on each other and extend a new branch of the story. While reorganizing the order and balance inside the screen, the possibility of an infinite narrative opens.

Destination within the process

In the movie “Butterfly (2002)”, which resembles the narrative of “The Bluebird,” Julien, who collects butterflies, and a little girl named Elsa go on a trip to the forest in search of a fantasy butterfly “Isabelle.” After searching for the butterfly for a week, they return empty-handed and find “Isabelle” at home. The actual butterfly and the love of Elsa’s mother, Isabelle, were all in place. Fantasy and daily life were equally phenomenal. It was the truth that was realized by the journey after a long detour.

The protagonist of a story always meets the outside world and faces changes to grow. They have to break their own pattern and come out to face the outside to meet the moment of growth. Therefore, artist Lee Chae opens the window of the image and embraces the wind. Opening the window implies opening the path to the outside world. Plants facing the wind move more vividly and show their existence. They brush each other’s bodies and imply another change. Let’s open the window and look further. Soon, they will realize that there is a vast forest in which they are traveling. An endless journey will unfold.

People become strong when experiencing difficulties in a long journey of life. Of course, becoming strong is a sign of growth, but if they only continue to stay strong in one direction, they will inevitably face obstacles like dogma and isolation. Therefore, what is special is the flexible attitude of a person who has already become strong. If they are flexible from the beginning, they will be easily swept away by the blowing wind, which will cause their existence to fade. However, if they stay firm and face the wind, they can ride the rhythm of the wind without stumbling like a dancer who holds the core firmly and moves gracefully. The image of a blue flower that opened the window and faced the wind shows a person’s attitude to become flexible again after being this strong.

I recall the quote, “Every journey has a secret destination that even the traveler does not know.” by philosopher Martin Buber (b.1878). The protagonist’s destination at the end of a story always differs from the initial plan. However, it is the richness of the process that determines the completeness of the story. While flowers bloom and fall to grow into trees within the artist’s inner self, the shape of the blue flower continues to change anew. It is a process of discovering the true destination, not a change of destination. Wider arms are born while the plants on the screen lean on each other, shake in the wind, and create shadows. The destination to reach may exist in the process.

 Kim Jiyeon (Art Critic)