Ewho
Gallery, Seoul, South Korea Presents Global Art Project (Indonesia & Korea)
“FRIDA
KAHLO: LOVE & TRAGEDY”
Seruni
Bodjawati and Higi Jung
Essay
by Seruni Bodjawati
Man
is a mystery. Although his physical action can be read, but the motion of his soul
is unpredictable where it leads. Inside a human's mind, there are endless possibilities. If a human is being compared to universe, he is like a small
cosmos and the universe is like a big cosmos. Remarkably, the big cosmos can be
stored in a small cosmos. The human mind itself can be smaller than a grain of sand and when it is deployed, it can be wider
than the universe. Yes, man is a great mystery, for himself or for others.
Higi
Jung tried to interpret the figure of Frida Kahlo with the sharpness point of
view that is left loose. Excerpts meaning embodied in the works of photography.
Her artistic presentation technique is unique. She presents a psychological
analysis as an expression of short poems. It is fresh with surprises that are
igniting enlightenment. The shortness of expression precisely impresses the
longevity of distraction power in creativity that is difficult to be measured.
Frida’s existence as a source of inspiration is described as eternal riddle.
Man is a big question mark. His imperfection becomes the falsification of his
wholeness. The secret of the noise is located on the edge of silence. The
maturity is within the simplicity reflexion. Photographic works of Higi Jung
become an unexpected appeal precisely because its expression is very close to
everyday reality. Similar wonders to the heartbeat. It is fused in the body
until it has palpable presence.
Higi
Jung was born in Uncheon, Kunggi-do, on December 5, 1986. She ever stayed in
Moscow, Russia, in 1991-1993. Until now she is living in Seoul, South Korea. In
2009 she graduated from Chung-Ang University in creative writing and
photography. Getting to know Frida Kahlo at the age of 17 through the film
titled Frida. Her curiosity with the Mexican legend was made her
continuously hunting information via internet and books. Finally, the
figure of Frida is used as a source of ideas for work, especially in
photography.
Frida
Kahlo is known in the art world because of her life history was full of colour
and wave. She was born on July 6, 1907 and died on July 13, 1954. Living amid
the roar of the Mexican revolution made her experienced tragic events. A great
traffic accident made her suffering pains for life. Her marriage with a
muralist, Diego Rivera, was widening inner wounds as well as boosting her
creativity. Her affair with a communist leader, Trotsky, became a glamorous
myth. Her attitude was reckless, with the lion guts, banging on the walls of
the establishment. In short, her life story is as important to talk about as
the awesomeness of her artworks. Recorded Frida made 143 paintings, 55 of
which are self-portraits which often incorporate symbolic depiction of the
physical and psychological wounds. She insisted, "I never paint dreams or
nightmares. I paint my own reality.”
Equally
fascinated by Frida Kahlo, I agreed to collaborate with Higi Jung in the
project Frida Kahlo: Love & Tragedy, supported by Ewho Gallery,
Seoul, South Korea. Since high school, starting when I was 15 years old, I have
created dozens of paintings with the main object of Frida Kahlo figure. Working
together with Higi Jung would certainly be an important record for both our
artistic journeys.
There
are seven pieces of my paintings I created in this art project. Five pieces
sized 200 x 145 cm; A Couple of Rebels, Glimpses of Morning Star,
Children of Heaven, The Legend Vanished in Memories and The
Silent World of Frida. Two others are Conquering the World sized
200 x 300 cm and Opera Pablo Pickahlo sized 250 x 200 cm. The
media of all my artworks are acrylic on canvases. My inclination is to tell by
the winged language. I see the figure of Frida Kahlo in my artworks as an
existence plagued with gloom fate. Full of problems, rebelling to grey fate,
continuously searching for herself holding a twist of death on her back. As
human with multidimensional characters, the figure is hammered with a big
question mark that will never go over answered. I also idealize it by intentionally
increasing the volume of humanity. In order for the dramatic aspects that were
created can be sticking sharper. Decorative technique is quite dominating the
whole field of the canvases. Surrealistic atmosphere is spreading in the stern
expression. The power of colours is slightly muted to strengthen the suggestive
power and fantasy games.
By
featuring the clarity of mind, Higi Jung created eight photographic works.
Two of them are self-portraits. Four of them were shot with a model of South
Korean actress, Jaehwa Kim, her own cousin. And two works were shot with a
model of a Javanese woman, Darajati Pertiwi. She shot the six works in South
Korea. Two works titled Women F # 5 Pink Tears and Women
F#6 Connivance were created in Indonesia when she was visiting
Yogyakarta. In the series of Women F, summarized eight works
titled Spring Fever, Do not be Afraid, Summer House, Ponds in the
Forest, On the Carpet with Tiny Ducks, Pink Tears, Connivance, and Gaze. Thick
eyebrows that characterize Frida Kahlo character are imposed on the face of the
model to build a new character. It is an affirmation of the view that women are
strong, independent and having unbeatable freedom. This is a maturation of
culture that tends to push the perception that women should be gentle and pure.
At
last, my collaboration with Higi Jung will be a silent dialogue that will never
end. From two different and far places we look toward a same point. Although
the direction of our view is the same but our minds are wandering into the
wilderness that much different. Indeed, a friendship becomes beautiful when
each person is left to be himself to the fullest.
Yogyakarta,
23 October 2012