Poem on Wall (2020) at Maryland Institute College of Art

Acrylic, oil sticks

200 x 120 x 300cm (length x width x height)

This expression of poetry and onomatopoeia on the wall was made using red oil sticks and pink acrylic. I wrote a poem and left a blank to express a silent world. The experiment represents a system of broken language underscoring my challenges in the world of communication. This is my attempt to release myself from this burden.

The artworks of Yoko Ono’s book Grapefruit (1964), and Mira Schendel’s artwork Untitled from Graphic Objects at MoMA, gave me this idea. I usually would use paper, but I wanted to incorporate it into a public space. The wall connects to another wall, ceiling and floor and so the space is not limited. The painting became a part of the installation. Sound creates various colors in my brain as a phenomenon of synesthesia. Pink represents sound in my current work and so I use it in this artwork. The pink is a pure sound expression while the presence of red refers to my body and the problem of sound as a result of my pain. I translated the red and pink color into the text and wanted to communicate this experience with the audience. Originally, all language was based on sound. In prehistoric times, we used oral communication but developed written communication for records as time went on (hypothesis). Thus, strictly speaking, a textual language does not exist if someone does not have experience with sound. In other words, text exists as long as it connects with sound or imagined sound.