Shin Sun-Mi - When you were sleeping
Artist Shin Sun-Mi visually weaves stories of both present and past on her canvas by placing classical women, mischievous ant sprites and a waggish cat in a blurry boundary between dream and reality. These ant sprites that are witnessed in a private scene of the woman who is wearing a Han-bok, Shin expresses regrets for the modern society where dreaming and different thoughts are tabooed and further questions whether today’s visible things are the absolute truth.
“One day I happened to notice ants coming after leftover cookie crumbs, taking away their share and leaving. Just like ants, there must be some creatures that catch you off guard. A quiet moment is detected in a place where the boundary between dream and reality is unclear and where it’s visually unnoticed. Grown-ups try to deny such witness regarding it as a coincidence or a mistake. The ‘Ant Sprites’ series was created in order to capture the existence of miracle that is often missed into drawing and moreover to inculcate the innocence and purity of childhood that is lost as we grow up. I did not want my fairies to be communicated as the ordinary Tinker bell or elf; I thought an unseen existence may just have the same look as us. The reason for not dressing them in modern clothes in not only because of my major in oriental painting but also because of my talent in drawing Han-bok(Korean traditional costume). Moreover, as many foreigners evoke of China and Japan when thinking of the East, I proposed a figure with Han-bok to give people a distinct awareness about Korea. However, in order to break away from the past look that emerge from the Han-bok, I placed modern props to broaden the interpretation of my work.”
Shin Sun-Mi graduated from Ulsan University and the graduate school of Hongik University both in oriental painting. She won an award at the 22nd Grand Art Exhibition of Korea by the National Museum of Contemporary Art in 2003. She has been actively participating in national and international exhibitions. Shin has been recognised for her ability to mix traditional art techniques with contemporary elements.
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