Episode 16: Communication and Empathy
The seat by the window.
There was a statue blocking the path before turning the corner.
The children kept saying, “Wow, it’s really well made,” with shining eyes.
Among all the works she had seen, this one seemed the best, so Goo Haeyoung’s expression softened a bit.
“Whose is this? Why is it placed in the hallway?”
Shin Taemin glanced at Kang Lim and said,
“The work of a student who shares the same partition was too large, so we had to move it outside.”
“I see. Please explain.”
As soon as Shin Taemin stood next to the work, the children’s attention increased.
With many female students around, a handsome male student always drew attention.
Moreover, the piece he made looked exactly like himself.
Most of the reactions were that a sculpture had made a sculpture.
Only Lee Hyunseong showed a puzzled expression amidst the heated murmurs.
He found it amazing how someone could create such a large version of themselves.
“He’s not normal either… Almost everyone here has a screw loose. Isn’t his narcissism a bit too much?”
“You’re one to talk.”
Kang Lim brushed off Lee Hyunseong’s words and focused on Shin Taemin’s presentation.
“I saw Shin Taemin’s self-portrait before and destroyed my own…”
He didn’t know what Shin Taemin was dissatisfied with in life, but it seemed he was sincere in making a self-portrait filled with empathy.
“I think we live in an era where we fulfill our desires through others. We all work hard, but sometimes I wonder if the dreams we have are really ours or someone else’s. We often base our life’s standards on others’ evaluations. Eventually, you lose sight of who you are. So, I explored who I am through this sculpture.”
Kang Lim felt it was similar to the life he experienced in a previous life.
What do I truly want…
It was about a time when people increasingly forgot themselves.
“I think I am a person with a mix of alien characteristics. I look flawless on the outside, but I am soft inside.”
With one word, the girls chattered, “Oh my, he’s soft inside.”
Seeing the reactions around him, he thought, “Of course.”
“Shin Taemin became famous for his works filled with self-pity…”
The reason why Shin Taemin would become a famous painter in Korea in the future.
His ability to create great works played a part, but his atmosphere and face also attracted a lot of public attention.
Just as celebrities’ works sell well, an artist’s appearance and recognition greatly influence their work’s sales.
“To highlight my alien characteristics, I used two contrasting materials. Wood becomes smooth when sanded, but if left unprocessed, it remains sharp and rough. So, aside from carving with a chisel, I didn’t process it at all.”
“And in the end, I applied epoxy to give it a finite feel. The wood inside is rough, but the epoxy surrounding it is transparent and smooth. I wanted to express my life with these two contrasting materials.”
Creating a full-body statue of this quality in just three weeks is difficult.
Especially since wood is a challenging material for sculpture.
But going a step further here was truly impressive.
“Honest work. Well done. I heard your explanation well.”
As Goo Haeyoung nodded, Shin Taemin moved the statue to the common desk.
Once the path was cleared, the children followed Goo Haeyoung again.
With bustling footsteps, the children’s attention was slightly scattered.
They were chatting about the statue they just saw, making them distracted.
The statue seemed to scream that it was too pitiable. It was the first time they had seen such a well-made statue.
The surroundings became noisy with the sounds of praise.
However,
The moment they turned the corner,
The chattering children all fell silent.
“……”
After a moment of silence swept through the space,
With their mouths slightly open and pupils enlarged, the children spoke after a long while.
“What, what is this?”
“Wow, it’s really cool.”
“Look at the scale…”
It was as if a bomb had dropped.
Pieces of shattered books were hanging all over the studio.
The shredded pages were piled on the floor, fluttering and varying in height as the viewers moved.
Experiencing the shocking visual effects with their whole bodies, the children eventually started sniffing.
Inside the space Kang Lim created, there was the smell of time embedded in old bookshelves.
Seeing the traces of problems filled here and there made them laugh involuntarily.
This place itself was filled with everyone’s memories.
Goo Haeyoung looked at Kang Lim with a smile as if she had expected it.
“Excellent. Please explain.”
Kang Lim stood in the center of the space and pointed to the sculpture he made.
The cut books were trapped in a narrow box. As if they were wailing.
“Like Shin Taemin said earlier, I lived such a life too. I thought I had to live a life that others would see as worthwhile. So, I worried a lot. I wanted to major in art, but I couldn’t afford it. So, I thought it would be good to have a stable and secure job like everyone else thought. I tailored myself to others’ thoughts.”
“So… to express my old self, I chose these workbooks.”
“The workbooks gathered here are all different types. But they were cut to fit exactly into a square glass box. As they were cut, their characteristics disappeared.”
The books trapped in the transparent glass box were packed tightly without any space.
“But I don’t think this life is sad. It was also a life I worked hard to build. So, I didn’t throw away the pieces left after cutting, but hung them here and there or ground them in a shredder. I wanted those efforts to feel like a festive moment, not a sad one. Like fireworks bursting.”
Indeed, the tightly packed boxes and the freely scattered book pieces created a strong contrast.
Static yet lively.
“While shredding the books, I thought, ‘Sentences become words, words become letters… If they are broken down one by one, they seem to lose their meaning. But on the contrary, if they all come together, don’t they regain their meaning?’”
The beautiful yet sad life story made the children’s eyes twitch.
The traces of trivial things piled up.
That made their hearts heavy.
“They say the world runs by the 1%. So, they say the remaining 99% are like cogs in a wheel. But I think that’s wrong. If you think the other way around, if they disappear, the world is really left with nothing. I wanted to express every single moment and person.”
Kang Lim’s last words comforted everyone there.
Among those who received unknown solace were Seoyeon and Shin Taemin.
Even though they grew up in completely different environments from Kang Lim, they felt empathy.
Kang Lim’s work was not for himself.
It was to resonate with all the viewers navigating the space.
After the project presentations were over and the children had all left the studio,
Gerald, having received a call from Goo Haeyoung, rushed to see the work.
“Wow. My goodness… To complete an installation art piece like this, something only a senior majoring in art would attempt…”
Goo Haeyoung, sitting on the windowsill, spoke.
“Even writers currently working professionally find this difficult. Moreover, if you actually try to make something using these materials, it often just looks messy.”
“Exactly. If the sizes of the books in the box were even slightly off, it wouldn’t have been as good. The detail is crucial with these materials.”
“Indeed, most people wouldn’t even think of using such materials.”
“Hahaha! That’s true. Everyone runs to the stationery store when they think of art supplies.”
Gerald, while touching the work, thought of other students.
They were excellent students, but none stood out like this in their first year.
Students who only drew found it difficult to create three-dimensional sculptures.
When they carve a statue thinking only of the front view, they forget how it looks from the side.
Conversely, those who only sculpt often find it hard to express two-dimensional works.
“But installation art is even more difficult. You have to be good at both.”
Installation art is a new form of art that involves drawing and sculpting space.
It requires a broader perspective than just painting or sculpting.
You must consider the viewers’ perspective as they view and experience the work.
“The varying heights of the hanging fragments make it feel like a rhythm in music, so it doesn’t get boring.”
When installing work in such a large space, people unconsciously hang pieces at the same height. If you’re not careful, it can end up looking like interior design.
But Kang Lim’s work wasn’t like that.
It was a space full of changes… a space singing and dancing.
Moreover, he divided the book cover designs into cool and warm colors and placed them appropriately.
He treated objects like he was painting with colors.
The books trapped in the box looked colder, while the finely shattered or broken pieces looked hot and passionate.
“He created contrast while making groups to maintain unity…”
What about the strings used for hanging?
To give the feeling that the fragments were floating in the air, he deliberately chose transparent matte threads.
He even considered how they would sparkle when the light came in from the window.
“I think of Hwan(HWAN)… from just a 20-year-old kid!”
As soon as Gerald exclaimed, Goo Haeyoung naturally recalled her younger days.
That day was another when Hwan(HWAN) was absent.
On the desk where his work should have been, there were only broken pieces of a liquor bottle.
No matter how low the score given, Goo Haeyoung couldn’t accept that as a piece of work and went to complain to the old professor in anger.
[Professor, why don’t you give that student a failing grade?]
Goo Haeyoung had one reason for expressing her dissatisfaction.
She thought Hwan(HWAN)’s rude behavior as a fellow Asian would tarnish her image too.
But the old professor smiled kindly and said,
[An artist should know how to use the world as their material.]
It took Goo Haeyoung 10 years to finally understand the meaning of those words.
But today, hearing Kang Lim’s presentation, she knew.
Ah, this kid is already using the world as his material.
To express his theme, Kang Lim directly jumped into the world.
And he found materials amidst the people.
A unique perspective and interpretation of objects…
It felt like he was not just twenty but someone who had lived through middle age.
“I don’t know why this young kid seems like a peer…”
Goo Haeyoung chuckled and took out her phone to search through her contacts.
After looking at the list of galleries preparing for exhibitions,
She chose the best gallery and pressed the call button.
Rrrring-
Before the ringtone lasted even a few seconds, the curator answered the phone.
[Oh oh oh! Professor, is this really Professor Goo Haeyoung? Amazing.]
It was natural for the curator to be surprised, as it was the first time the professor, who had been asking to be notified if a good student was found, had called.
“Yes. I have a student I want to introduce.”
