On the Island of Imagery

Here stand two choices: one to become everything, and the other to become nothing at all. Which path, then, shall we dare to tread? At this pivotal junction, a fervent stir arises. Such is the zeal of the soul tasked with dividing the threads of fate. It is busy, for it must decide and sort in the blink of an eye, like a wave crashing onto the shore. Perhaps the word 'survival' we utter is but a succinct representation of this relentless task. Our bodies try to alleviate some of this frantic energy by momentarily closing our eyes. Around 15,000 times a day, we blink, and in each instance, the brain chooses to either forget or remember.

 

To forget or to remember. Depending on our choice, that which dissipates and fades away does so devoid of meaning, leaving 'nothingness' in its wake. In contrast, the 'residual image,' with the potential to become anything, embeds itself in our minds, forming a vivid picture even with closed eyes. This essay is a contemplation of such images. It explores their power to become anything—recurring in dreams, manifesting in reality like déjà vu, or leaving a lasting impression of familiarity. In art, this parallels the act of depicting images on a blank canvas with hardened pigments, creating fixed and distinct scenes akin to photographs, shared across time. Herein lies a critical essay on Simon Ko's works, a collection that embodies these very traces.

 

 

Simon Ko's canvases assert their presence on the boundary of reality and the surreal, bridging the realms of everyday life and dreams. These works capture a nuanced middle ground where autobiographical remnants and painterly imaginations intersect and overlap. To some, this intersection may seem inconsequential, yet it holds the potential to transform profoundly, exerting significant influence. Such transformation often unfolds within the context of an exhibition. Standing before Ko's work, I find myself contemplating whether something that arrived at the island, carried by the sea breeze, will return to the ocean's depths or stay, leaving its mark on the island. In the absence of definitive answers from a supreme deity, it becomes a matter of living with the responsibility for one's chosen frequencies.

 

Individuals caught in deep ontological contemplation, often depicted with their eyes tightly shut, recurrently emerge as a central motif in Ko's works. Our eyes wide open, we observe these figures with their eyes closed from our perspective. This dynamic creates a unique coexistence between the painting and the observer, with the depicted scenes confronting us as if in the real world. We, in reality, look towards them, but those within the canvas are engrossed in their own activities, unaware of us—whether working on a MacBook, strumming a guitar, departing somewhere, or deep in thought. Some appear to be sleeping, either leaning on the floor or lying down, evoking the ghostly presence of Ophelia drowned, submerged in water (as depicted in "Slow Waters"). They do not return our gaze. An exception occurs in "The Real One", where a man facing a full-length mirror is depicted; yet even he does not share a gaze with the reflected woman, the mirror, or us, the viewers outside the painting. Despite this sense of otherness, their appearances seem familiar, resembling well-known characters that blend seamlessly into the contemporary universal crowd. They evoke the simplicity seen in Soo Keun Park's works, where rough textures created by mixing granite powder reflect the humble lives portrayed. The recurring elements of Ko’s work—simplified facial features reminiscent of dolls, bodies made more pictorial through minimal shading and emphasized flatness, a restrained palette against rugged surface texture, and blurred lines from the surface's unevenness—stand out for these reasons.

 

In Ko's works, the figures coexist with objects and backgrounds expressed similarly, blending natural and man-made elements neutrally within the scenarios the artist conceives. Titles like Away, Breather, Sanctum, and Scorched provide vague hints about the depicted situations, yet they avoid confining the narrative to a specific time or place. Instead, these titles hint at a convergence of multiple spacetimes, woven together into a cohesive scene on the canvas. Frames of various sizes, reminiscent of wallpaper, windows, or mirrors, delineate angular spaces in the painting. Meanwhile, elements like lighting, starlight, balloons, and juggling balls introduce curved surfaces, and the movement of plant leaves, curtains, or flags adds dynamic, non-uniform shapes. These characteristics, albeit with slight variations, are consistently observed across most of Ko's works. He blends simple abstraction, reenacted reality, and fictional elements within a metafictional realm, blurring the lines between subject and subplot through his perspective. The canvas presents a complex tangle of multiple vanishing points, giving viewers a multidimensional image assembly that evolves into a conceptual and non-physical landscape. It becomes clear that the painter has transcended mere visual representation, drawing upon remnants that linger in the mind post-observation. Therefore, although concrete elements of daily life are present, they serve to create a dreamlike, fantastical atmosphere. This quality extends to three-dimensional works like Stopover, where, despite transitioning to multi-perspective sculpture, the illusion of freshly painted surfaces and the artificial manipulation of light through grayscale shading are preserved.

 

Within Simon Ko's artistic domain, individuals may seem to be dreaming, sleeping, or meditating, journeying through alternate dimensions. They resemble tranquil icons, with peaceful expressions and eyes closed in selflessness, as though diving deep into their innermost selves. This likely represents individuals in moments of quiet self-reflection and preservation, paradoxically coupled with a desire for self-erasure. A subtle and serene response to solitude and anxiety pervades Ko's style, lingering closely within.

 

Thus, within this context, both the familiarity and novelty found in Simon Ko's latest exhibition, Mellow Island, come to the forefront. The frequent portrayal of young lovers in his earlier works evokes a notion of love entangled with the consequences of separation. This theme confronts us with pivotal moments of fate, leading either to insignificance or importance, intertwined with challenging relationships and the continual, difficult narrative of life, urging us to confront existence from a personal viewpoint.

 

Caught in a storm, we eventually find ourselves on an island that might house the artist's persona, someone similar, or perhaps a version of myself intertwined with him. Here, we dare to meet the gaze that once eluded us, and without physical sight, we begin to perceive. Blurred afterimages transition into vivid imprints, plunging us into deep contemplation inspired by them. Simon Ko's work echoes the sea's rhythm, seamlessly merging into the realm of imagery, where visions linger and are recalled, even with closed eyes, maintaining their essence.