Episode 54: A Person with Many Secrets
Coincidentally, the seat next to Lee Sora was Yoon Jangmi.
Two people of the same age but completely different personalities.
Yoon Jangmi started her presentation with the usual indifferent expression.
While the other students were tense, she showed no signs of nervousness.
“I originally graduated from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, but I joined Han Ye University. While working on design, I realized that I like crafting things that fit together perfectly. Maybe it’s because I often visited the woodworking shop my grandmother ran when I was a child, but I kept thinking about shaping wood there, so I quit the company. I thought, ‘This is my dream’…”
Kang Lim admired the sketches plastered all over Yoon Jangmi’s partition.
Various modernly designed accessories, simple and heartwarming ceramics…
There were many design sketches, but most of them were woodworking.
It seemed like she was heavily influenced by her grandmother.
Yoon Jangmi brought out her most cherished design notebook and showed it to the students.
A cloud bridge tray that showed the wood grain as it was, a mortar-shaped chair made by preserving the tree stump as much as possible, earrings made by combining woods of different natural colors…
These were works that captured the beauty of nature as they were.
“As you can see, I like woodworking the most. In Korea, the four seasons are distinct, so the tree rings are clear. Shaping the wood along those grains makes me feel very calm. I like to create items while preserving their natural forms, whether it’s knots or tree rings. I also enjoy making accessories from scrap wood.”
Yoon Jangmi introduced her sketches with a smile.
There was a spark in her eyes that usually seemed uninterested in anything.
“My favorite is ash wood because it’s dense and hard, making it great for furniture. My goal is to create beautiful crafts. I also want to create a brand under my name.”
Kang Lim nodded as he listened to her presentation.
Yoon Jangmi, as she said, created an app to sell her handcrafted items and established a famous craft brand. He thought it would be fun to collaborate with her.
‘The sketches are nice, but some pieces seem hard to realize as finished products.’
Aside from the designs that emphasized the wood grain, it seemed good to paint the other furniture with lacquer or mother-of-pearl to highlight Eastern aesthetics.
Gerald, as if reading Kang Lim’s mind, said, “Everything’s good, but remember that there’s a big difference between a sketch and the actual product. Since this is a product, the level of completion is important.”
Yoon Jangmi nodded as she reviewed her sketches.
“However, it’s evident that you’ve meticulously designed the process of making furniture with intricate joints. These detailed sketches could even be compiled for an exhibition! If you have expertise in any field, you can be recognized for your work in painting as well. In fact, many famous architects often hold exhibitions of just their rough sketches. Good presentation!”
Yoon Jangmi hadn’t expected much since it wasn’t a painting task, but Gerald’s compliment was surprisingly generous.
He seemed more open-minded than she thought.
“Alright! Let’s move on to the next student!”
At Gerald’s shout, the students moved en masse to the last partition.
Everyone already knew whose turn it was next.
It had become a rule in the Department of Sculpture and Art to wait for Kang Lim’s presentation, known for his enviable talent that no one could be jealous of anymore.
In Kang Lim’s area, there was a series of 24 pieces on display.
The paintings were too large to hang all at once, so some were placed along the corridor.
Paintings filled three sides of the wide partition, making it feel like a mini-exhibition.
Moreover, the paintings hung on the white square partitions resembled half-open windows, creating an effect as if real windows had been installed in the space.
Changing the canvas frame itself was a novel attempt.
Gerald and the students entered Kang Lim’s partition and began to closely examine the paintings.
The first painting was meticulously detailed.
A woman curled up with her knees drawn to her chest, hugging her legs tightly.
The moment you made eye contact with the woman who slightly lifted her head, a chill gripped and strongly caressed your heart.
She was backlit by the intense sunlight streaming in from outside, casting a deep shadow on her face.
The contrast created by the backlight heightened the emotions she carried.
Her eyes were filled with anxiety, disdain, awe, and fear.
A chaotic mixture of various emotions.
In contrast to the realistically depicted woman, the background was disheveled like a shedding skin.
As if things were blurred and distorted when tears welled up, everything was in a distorted state.
This wasn’t merely a depiction of a place but an emotional landscape Kang Lim had seen.
A fragment of memory reflecting a psychological state.
What on earth had happened?
The students naturally became curious about Kang Lim’s story.
Why he painted such a picture…
Believing the students had sufficiently observed the painting, Kang Lim began to speak.
“Uh, unlike the other students, I didn’t start my work with a lifelong research theme in mind. Rather, as I kept working, I realized I had a consistent theme. Like the clash between the meticulously drawn figure and the abstractly drawn background in this painting, I tend to focus on paradoxical phenomena. I pay attention to situations where different concepts collide.”
Listening to Kang Lim, Gerald raised his eyebrows slightly.
He had thought Kang Lim wouldn’t know his own signature style, but it was amazing how accurately he knew it.
As expected, a student who surpasses expectations.
Standing in front of the painting that intrigued the students the most, Kang Lim spoke.
“Uh, um… I painted this when I was six…”
As soon as those words came out, the surroundings became noisy.
They wanted to believe it was a lie, but since it was Kang Lim speaking, the confusion only intensified.
There was no reason to lie about the production year.
An appraiser could tell with just one look.
“Everyone, quiet down! It’s still a presentation!”
Gerald, already aware of the fact, quieted the bustling students.
It was a while before Kang Lim could continue speaking.
“I couldn’t believe it myself back then, so I think this reaction is natural. I witnessed a murder when I was a child, and since then, I’ve had an inexplicable memory. I can remember all the images I’ve seen once. So, I’m in a state of almost no forgetting, holding an excessive amount of information in my brain. At that time, the doctor said I would suffer from autism and mental illness.”
The students covered their open mouths in shock.
Some could be seen swallowing saliva noticeably.
But, given his talent, they understood even this unbelievable story…
They silently continued to listen.
“My mother was consumed by immense shock and fear. I was her only son and very young. Truly, I can never forget the look on my mother’s face from that time. Even without an abnormal memory, it would be unforgettable for a lifetime. So I thought I must record that scene. I was also desperate to pour all my talent into it.”
Only then could the students understand the look in the woman’s eyes in the painting.
A wonder at her son’s abilities, coupled with a situation that forced her to scorn them.
Seeing a child who seemed about to be swallowed by his talent, the anxiety and fear…
He had depicted it as it was.
“At that time, my mother and I were running in completely opposite directions. My mother saw me as a child to be cared for, but I just wanted to work as quickly as possible. I wanted to prove myself as soon as possible. That must have been incredibly painful for my mother, but we were completely unable to understand each other.”
Kang Lim took down the first work and flipped the canvas to show the back.
“I crafted the canvas frame myself to resemble a window. This was not only to highlight the light that changes psychological states depending on the weather but also to symbolize the relationship between my mother and me.”
Why does that symbolize his mother and himself?
The students’ eyes widened with curiosity.
“If you look closely, it’s not just a half-open window shape but a parallelogram. A parallelogram where no matter how long the lines are extended, there is no vertex where the two lines can meet. That’s how we were at that time.”
Kang Lim took down the last piece he had hung and compared it to the first canvas, flipping it over.
“As the series of 24 canvases progresses from the 1st to the 24th piece, the angle of the parallel lines gradually decreases. I adjusted it to a very subtle angle, almost imperceptible. Over time, as we finally understood each other, a vertex where the lines meet was created. I wanted to hide my message in this way.”
A painting containing a secret code…
Gerald shook his head in admiration of the ingenious idea.
Perfectionist artists always do things like this.
They want every piece of the puzzle that makes up their work to have meaning.
Such artists hide meanings within their works, delighting in watching critics or curators discover them.
The most notorious for this method is Da Vinci, who hid so many enigmatic codes that scholars are still studying them today.
Looking at Seo Yeon, Kang Lim spoke while revealing another hidden meaning.
There was another hidden meaning, but he wondered if Seo Yeon could find it.
However, the classroom was silent, with no one, including Seo Yeon and Gerald, deciphering the remaining intention.
Reluctantly, Kang Lim decided to keep one secret and conclude his presentation.
With a slightly disheartened expression, he flipped the last canvas back to display the front painting.
It was a completely different atmosphere from the first painting.
On a sunny day, the woman was facing the light head-on.
In profile, she was smiling brightly as she looked out the window.
She was feeling the clear weather with her whole body.
Gone were the earlier worries and feelings of restraint, she was now basking in freedom and happiness.
The background was imbued with warm hues and drawn with wavy lines.
The lines exuded the joy of the senses.
They conveyed a sense of lightness and rhythm.
Pointing at the painting, Kang Lim spoke.
“This is a painting I made recently, after time passed since the incident. In other words, this series combines paintings from when I was six to those I painted now. Reflecting on my memories, I drew moments of my mother’s emotional shifts. I wanted to create a painting that encapsulates all the joys and sorrows of human life.”
Through Kang Lim’s presentation, the students felt a deep resonance in their hearts.
It was like seeing a masterpiece that satisfied both content and form.
It was amazing how a painting could convey such strong emotions.
Gerald, overly excited, spoke.
“Haha. Great! Really great! Perfect! But is there anything else? If you’ve been drawing since childhood, there must be more. I told you to bring everything!”
Kang Lim took out a portfolio he had prepared with Seo Yeon and placed it on the desk.
Five files that could hold 40 photos each.
A portfolio containing 200 paintings.
“I couldn’t take pictures of everything because I have so many works. I compiled a portfolio with about 200 representative pieces. Actually, I have about ten times more than this.”
The surroundings, which had quieted down from being moved, became noisy again.
This time, Gerald joined the commotion.
It was an unexpected answer.
As students noisily tried to take a look at the portfolio, Gerald shouted, “Don’t touch it! I’ll look first!”
Of course, they stopped moving at Gerald’s outburst.
“So, you’re saying there are about 2,000 pieces?”
When Kang Lim nodded with a calm expression, Gerald tried to suppress his surprise.
He didn’t want to show any more astonishment in front of such a composed 20-year-old.
“Ahem. Then it would be good to hold a solo exhibition soon! You should do it when you have a lot of work. It’s even better if you can do it consecutively and at a large venue! Especially since the paintings are big.”
As expected, Kang Lim confidently replied, “Yes, I’ve already applied for the Baekyeon Gallery contest. Since it felt wrong to separate the series into individual pieces, I wanted to present them in a solo exhibition, rather than in a group show.”
At the mention of Baekyeon Gallery, the students were taken aback again.
It’s a place hard to debut even after graduating with a master’s or doctorate.
Just applying for the contest was like declaring he would surpass hundreds of competitors.
Buzz…
At that moment, Kang Lim’s phone rang.
Thinking it was a call, he hurriedly glanced at the screen to turn off his phone since it was class time.
[Hello. This is Baekyeon Gallery. Congratulations to artist Kang Lim for being selected for the solo exhibition contest…]
An unexpected text message appeared on the preview screen.
Startled, Kang Lim shouted, “Whoa! They say I got selected. I just received a message saying I won.”
