The artworks in the exhibition were influenced by a complex psychological state that I had gone through over the last 30 years of my life in Korea before immigrating to Canada. So I intended to express important retrospective, and record my memory in the artworks.

 

  Barnacles that I used as a main piece in my work, lives in the beach, and are found everywhere; on stones, on wood, on sea animal skins, etc. Over time, barnacles encrust all over the surface of objects. I recognize these characteristics resemble human mind and their various colors reflect human emotions such as hatred, anger and happiness.

 

  Textures of trees standing at memorable places were reproduced in my artworks. The pattern and texture of a willow tree at my high school, a tree behind my university, and a maple tree in front of the art studio that I worked in were used to reproduce the textures of my artworks. I especially liked the parts that resembled a cut in the tree branch, a split on the bark of a tree and the gnarled part on an old tree. Moreover, charcoals were used in my art pieces. Near my studio, there was an area where many charcoal factories were located. So I had the opportunity to observe the process of producing charcoals. Parts of a tree were heated at a high temperature in kilns, and as result, the burned remains of parts of a tree became charcoals. The charcoals contracted in the heat, which further strengthened them. The pattern and texture of tree collected in memorable places and the process of making charcoal symbolize memory and recollection, created by agony and suffering, leading to the growth of the ego.