Artist
Soon Yul Kang
Soonyul Kang (강순열) is an artist who concernes with time, healing, and meditation and is influenced by traditional Korean cultural elements. She uses calligraphy and paper collage as her medium and is also influenced by the Zen understanding of simplicity, stillness, repetition, and rebirth and by the Eastern philosophy of Yin-Yang which teaches the balance and harmony of nature and of the universe. According to the theory of Yin-Yang, all things are said to have two opposing but complementary and cooperative aspects: dark and bright, shadow and light, black and white, invisible and visible, emptying and filling, square and circle, etc.
Q1. What inspires the artist?
Soon Yul is inspired by meditation, healing, and the concept of time, utilising various mediums and Korean cultural elements. Influenced by Zen’s principles of simplicity, stillness, repetition, and rebirth, as well as the Eastern philosophy of Yin-Yang, she explores the balance and harmony of nature and the universe.
Q2. What does being a female artist mean?
Soon Yul admits she never thought about the issue of being a female artist. She considers herself just an artist and continues to create works without considering gender issues.
Q3. How does Korean culture influence artist's art?
Soon Yul explains that as she studied and started working abroad, naturally, as time passed, past life experiences and childhood memories in Korea have been reflected in her works.
Q5. What projects are currently being worked on?
Q4. Who are the female artist role models, and why?
Soon Yul doesn’t believe she has a specific artist role model, but she appreciates the works of several female artists, such as Eva Hesse for her exploration with materials, Avis Newman for her simplicity, and Magdalena Abakanowicz for her use of textiles (tapestry weaving techniques and materials) in her sculptures and installations.
Soon Yul is preparing for her next solo exhibition, continuing her work in calligraphy, collage, and paper tapestries.
Rite of Passage, 1997
Installation: Handmade recycled paper, ashes Dimensions variable
The work titled ‘Rite of Passage’ explores the repetitive acts involved in the ritual. Soon Yul’s work began with handwritten letters that she received from someone in the past. She re-wrote them and burnt both the originals and her copies. She then created hand-drawn pieces on recycled handmade paper using the ashes, symbolising rebirth. The circular patterns drawn with ashes represent regeneration, while her hand movements signify healing. This action is influenced by her mother’s home remedy practice. In Korean culture, a mother often rubs a child’s tummy in a circular motion while singing a healing chant when a child has a upset stomach.
Invocation, 2015
Collage on 100 spheres| Handwriting on Korean mulberry paper, ink, cypress wood
Each piece: 45mm diameter sphere
Korean shamanistic culture of praying is the source of Soon Yul’s inspiration. Korean mothers used to pray their wishes for good fortunes for their children in front of a bowl of water. Their prayers were often repeated like chanting. They believed that their wishes would be granted if they recited their prayers for 100 days. Soon Yul’s work ‘Invocation’ was motivated by this culture. She handwrote the Korean word 사랑(sarang) which means LOVE, repeating like chanting or prayers. She then cut them into very tiny pieces and reassemble to form the piece. Through this ritualistic process, Soon Yul contemplates ‘Love’ or ‘Mother’ which represents a prayer and a special meaning that we all share.