Expositions passées
“When I look back on my two and one-half years in prison, I, an artist, recall time and time again how the worst part was not being able to paint. When I was first locked up in solitary [confinement], I was terrified of being in a completely isolated place where not even the guards come. I thought I would go insane from the anxiety of not knowing what was going to happen to me and the solitude.” (excerpt from Lee Ungno, Prison Life: Between Heaven and Hell)
The above text indicates Lee Ungno’s mental and emotional state during the years he was imprisoned for his supposed involvement in 1967 in the East Berlin Incident. His creations bemoan an age that has lost touch with solitude, the outcome, as described by Oriah Mountain Dreamer (1954~ ) in her poem The Invitation, of fear about our convictions and the future, regrets about the past and a “night of despair, weary and bruised to the bone”—an energy that also pervades the work of modern-day artists.
“Loneliness is the poverty of self; solitude is the richness of self.” To obtain peace of mind, we must lend an ear to our inner silence—in other words, solitude. As declared by American poet and novelist May Sarton (1912-1995), solitude is not a severing of existence: rather, it is the door to a new world. It is after we have endured solitary intervals that we can come face to face with our true selves and, thereby, be truly free.
We enter the garden of an artist when we follow the path they take to encounter their true self (i.e. immersing oneself in introspection, away from demands to follow conventional values). While standing quietly in that private space, we have the opportunity to gaze at the outcome they have earned. It is only then that there is hope of bringing our exhausted, worry-ridden minds to a place of tranquility.
The four featured artists have each built up a unique artistic world through diverse mediums and topics. Lee’s anguish and intense self-reflection during his solitary imprisonment, which produced a fascinating body of prison art, remain relevant for creators today. This exhibition builds a bridge of solitude to connect the past with the present and explores the process by which artists of the 21st century learn Lee’s language. Visitors are encouraged to witness how solitude can, through the creative process, transform into a space for thought and inspiration.
