Issue 2

When I think of “rhizomes,” the first thing that comes to mind is the “CONNECT-BTS” project, specifically “New York Clearing” by Antony Gormley. (New York Clearing is a quantum drawing countering the Euclidean geometry of architecture with the sweeping vectors of a line without beginning or end.)

I found really impressive and inspiring how he described “Clearing” in the following lines:

“It’s an absolutely open work and it depends on the participation of the viewer. In a way, this is a high energy field, and the viewer’s body becomes the figure in the ground of the work. So the work is only completed when people are in it, looking at it, and part of it.” — “CONNECT-BTS“

So I thought about the relationship between those lines and the viewer’s body as the special connection and relationship that BTS have with ARMY.

Thanks to BTS’s songs and genuine messages that spread positivity, love, and kindness, thousands and millions of people around the world with different cultures and backgrounds are connected to each other, creating a unique and special bond with lots of memories.

For the unfortunate event that happened in 2020, lots of plans have been canceled, leaving us hopeless and with the difficulty of thinking about a late season of winter and a possible early spring. When I think about “bubbles,” the emotions that I feel are joy and happiness. So I wanted to trap all the special and happy memories that we had into bubbles, as a reminder that even though it’s hard to keep going and being hopeful for a better future, our life still goes on and with the memories that we created, they will encourage us to keep going and hopefully even create better ones once we have the opportunity again.

I found really beautiful and touching how Mr. Antony Gormley thinks about art:

“I think art is an open place where we can sense our own being, energy, vitality in a more direct, special way than anything else.”

I wanted to express this special place with the song “Spring Day,” so I decided to represent it as the background of the painting by drawing the “Bus Stop” located at Jumunjin Beach as a way to emphasize its importance, the comfort and hope that it gave me and hopefully that it will give to the viewer when they look at the painting. It is also a way to pay homage  to the song for its 4th year of anniversary.