Time of Quarks #113

Artist Statement

The Time of Quarks Artist's Statement Choi Jae-ran According to the Standard Model of particle physics, a 'Quark' is a constituent of the protons and neutrons of the atomic nucleus, and one of the most fundamental particles that make up the universe. 《The Time of Quarks》 is a work that contemplates time—which we experience and feel every moment in daily life, yet which remains invisible—by borrowing the concept of time from physics. I gather natural objects encountered on walks—fallen petals, fruits, small seeds—and arrange them in still-life compositions, and then symbolically draw the invisible time of the universe upon them, hoping to express time's directionality. Since ancient times, humans have reflected on the source of life and the principles of living through nature, and have tried to live humbly, in keeping with nature's cycles. This work began with the thought that the withering and disappearing forms of nature recall the human cycle of birth, aging, sickness, and death (生老病死); the gathered objects were arranged with the night sky and the infinite time of the universe in mind, and then constellations, the cosmos, time as conceived in physics, and traditional patterns were drawn upon them. The working process is at once very ordinary and very ritual-like. Every day I walk and observe and gather natural objects; then, on a black ground, imagining the universe, I hang withered natural objects on wire, attach seeds and fruits, fix the fading things with pins, and so recompose them, expressing the essence of nature as a still life. Onto the still life I then draw, symbolically, constellations, the cosmos, time as understood in physics, and traditional patterns. In ancient times, stars were thought to mark the birth or death of someone great, or to suggest the world after death, and the movement of stars was a marker of the seasons and the flow of time. With the wish that the still lifes I have arranged might become stars within my own universe, I drew constellations into the works. The rock paintings of prehistoric times also hold the cosmology, faith, and ritual acts of the people of that time, and one of the traditional Korean motifs, the 'chilbo' (seven-treasure) pattern, is a symbolic motif of auspicious wishes for longevity and good fortune, widely used on porcelain, clothing, and ornaments. By borrowing and reinterpreting these ancient symbols and traditional patterns, granting them the flow and continuity of time, I sought to express a longing for the eternal. 《The Time of Quarks》 uses still-life compositions in which life and death exist together, as a metaphor for how all beings live within finite time. By performing the still-life arrangement and the act of drawing as a ritual, I have sought to hold a mourning for the disappearing being and an earnest wish that, within my own universe, it may shine forever. In the end, we are all beings who live a finite time. Born on a small dot called Earth in this vast universe, moving in a single direction—where are we going? Through this question, I hope this becomes a time to think upon my own existence, the meaning of life. I am planning the next series, 《The Time of Quarks: Sea》. Centered on small fragments worn down over long ages by the waves, I will, through still-life composition and drawing, work through time's directionality from yet another angle.