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The Journal: 北海道
김소연 (Kim Soyeon)
2023.11.27 - 12.24
Gallery SIL[室]
Kim Soyeon
Pat,Co Knits [Pastorale, Comodo]: pastorally, serenely
I knit as if I paint.
As long as the finished work is perceived as one piece of artwork, it does not matter whether it is concrete or abstract, or whether it uses knitting needles or a crochet hook.
I mainly capture things that catch my eye in images and continuously strive to create resemblances, no matter what it might become.
I make small things for smaller things.
Travel is a joyful word. To escape from the monotony of a weary and tiresome life and head to unfamiliar places, one's daily routine inevitably loses its color. With countless repetitions without any particular guarantee, when the current place has somewhat lost its shine, we start thinking about escaping to other places.
In the winter of 2018, setting foot on Hokkaido for the first time was a pure delight, just like the snowy landscape. How could the experience be so fulfilling? Even now, though quite some time has passed, I haven’t felt the same kind of joy and freedom outside of my daily routine. It was so good, in fact, that a year later I did the same route with my mum (the trip, planned for 4 days and 3 nights during New Year’s, remains a bit of an amusing but bittersweet memory, with the main recollection being of eating at a decent restaurant only once). After quite a longtime of following through the daily routine due to circumstances beyond control, when I finally decided to set my feet in motion again, the very first place that came to mind was once again Hokkaido.
Hokkaido in December and Hokkaido in June. Forms that had been dulled by the white blanket of snow had found their shape between the 12 solar terms. The direction of my gaze changed as much as the seasonal landscape, and I kept noticing textures on walls, the outer bark of the trees, and small objects that couldn't have been made easily. I turned my head repeatedly, not wanting to miss any of those precious things that I might never see again, and pressed the shutter with ease. Even though it was clear that the image would be forgotten as easily as its simplicity once I returned to where I came from, and that it would be a long time before it unfolded again, I didn't stop to capture it, hoping that the moment would last forever.
Time is peculiar. It flows along at a set pace, and many things change without us even realizing it. After traveling in June, it's already in the midst of passing another half-year. Two seasons have come and gone, and the transformations have occurred quietly, like gentle ripples beneath the surface.
As more time passes, I want to try to record in my own way what the gains and losses are in these brief escapes, before they fade away without me even realizing it.
In the series <The Journal: 北海道> the beauty I witnessed in Hokkaido is incorporated in three textile artworks. I hope that this deeply personal esthetic sense, derived from highly personal experiences, will be enhanced by the universal warmth of the threads, and that the viewer will soothen up in an instant.
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