Soundless Reverie
September 2009 - March 2010
September 2009 - March 2010
(Senior Thesis Project)
Dreams have always been a significant part of my life since I was young. My idea for this project was to examine a specific entity that has shown upin multiple dreams over the last eleven years of my life. This individual is unknown and is someone I have never met or currently know, and have taken on various forms in different dreams. I believe that she is an aspect of fear—oreven a manifestation of myself—that has been haunting me, in hopes of either bringing me down or leading me to greater things. The project is about a fearthat arose from real-life situations and hardships since I moved here from Korea when I was seven years old. It consists of multiple fears in the form of different souls, constantly chasing me across planes of illusions, fantasies, and nightmares. I used this theme to undergo a search to unveil the identity of this woman and finally be able to drive her out of my subconscious. There have been many theories over why humans dream and why specific content or events occur within dreams. Sigmund Freud’s theory was that dreams are “a representation of unconscious desires, thoughts and motivations.” Manifest content and latent content were two components he theorized and they consisted of the first being actual images, content, and thoughts within dreams, and the latter being unknown psychological meaning behind dreams.
My goal was to portray the impossible and the unknown within this mystery figure, to challenge the viewer’s preconditioned perceptions of realityand compel them to become almost hypersensitive to their surroundings. Once it enters the thoughts of the viewer, I hope they linger and become a reality the viewer cannot escape. I am striving to reinforce the idea of an alternate reality. The impact I am looking to achieve is purely mental and only somewhat aesthetic. Exploring this subject matter may bring people to get in touch withtheir psyche and to become more aware of what they have been hiding or keeping secretive in their personal experiences and behaviors. They may also discover that dreams may hold more significance and can influence and produce results that are worth viewing or discussing, such as art. I hold this topic very close to my heart compared to other projects I have done, solely because it has been a very personal experience that only I am able to describe.
My goal was to portray the impossible and the unknown within this mystery figure, to challenge the viewer’s preconditioned perceptions of realityand compel them to become almost hypersensitive to their surroundings. Once it enters the thoughts of the viewer, I hope they linger and become a reality the viewer cannot escape. I am striving to reinforce the idea of an alternate reality. The impact I am looking to achieve is purely mental and only somewhat aesthetic. Exploring this subject matter may bring people to get in touch withtheir psyche and to become more aware of what they have been hiding or keeping secretive in their personal experiences and behaviors. They may also discover that dreams may hold more significance and can influence and produce results that are worth viewing or discussing, such as art. I hold this topic very close to my heart compared to other projects I have done, solely because it has been a very personal experience that only I am able to describe.
By continuing this project into the future andresearching further, I will be able to manipulate the woman, or the entity and its authority, instead of allowing her to have control over my dreams, thoughts, and feelings.
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This series of wood paintings are in no particular order and they all revolve around the woman of my dreams. Many contain hidden messages and notions that may not be apparent at first glance. Others contain another living subject which are representative of myself and/or my fears.
This series of wood paintings are in no particular order and they all revolve around the woman of my dreams. Many contain hidden messages and notions that may not be apparent at first glance. Others contain another living subject which are representative of myself and/or my fears.
This last shot was from the progress of my shared exhibition space at the Warren Robbins Gallery located inside of the art school at the University of Michigan. In this photo, the paintings are hung in order and in such a composition that would be pleasing to the viewers.
