Circle II

The “Circle II” series is a narrative about emotions derived from the artist’s childhood experience. In this series, the sentiments are projected onto various different characters from traditional Korean folk tales based upon a simple dichotomy of good and evil with a clear-cut moral message that good always wins. Now, these character-roles are transformed into self-portraits of the artist herself, which brings out feelings that are drastically visualized. Four different strategies are used to map the artist’s subjectivity and memory of the fictional characters: first, a direct but exaggerated empathy between the artist and a character. Second, an unnatural beatification of an evil character transformed as a psychological attempt in coping with the negativity itself. Third, an emphasis of extreme fear that amplified the latter’s vicious and immoral power. Last, a cynical figure of moral hypocrisy. During the creativity process, the artist transformed her memories into casual emotional vent, which became a personal therapy point.