Seoul, b. unknown

The fusion of metal and painting dismantles the boundaries of traditional pictorial practice, pursuing the expansion of medium as a means to probe the ontological truth embedded within the depths of human thought. Metal, the central substance of my work, embodies the backbone of civilization—an element forged upon the relentless struggles of humanity’s aspiration toward the ideal. It contains a primordial energy latent within matter itself. The rough surface rendered through grinding reveals both light and wound, inscribing the traces of a life that has defied its destined course. It stands as an act of resistance against the erosion of time, a testimony of reverence toward the fragile lives that have withered within the continuum of conflict and regeneration. Through the repetitive gestures of cutting the metal plate and layering pigments, destruction and reconstruction, disintegration and awakening are enacted in cycles —symbolizing the pilgrim’s ascent toward self-awareness. Within this process, the surface transforms into a site of experiment where physical labor and spiritual inquiry converge. My practice, situated upon a medium that records both time and humanity, becomes an act of embodying existence itself—an existential pilgrimage seeking the immortal ideal that lies beyond form.