Yeu Ryang Choi

After the Korean War, my grandparents' generation worked to develop the country's economy, which was one of the least developed at the time. As a result, my parents' generation were highly educated and lived free from physical labor. Most members of my own generation have not known the hardships of the past and enjoyed great material affluence. But we have also wrongly accepted Western cultures by embracing individualism and capitalism and falling into extreme egoism and materialism. I created this project to confront and consider Koreans' cultural and historical problems, while revering my own grandfather's life. Creating Series 2: The Memory With My Grandfather, was difficult, because I needed to re-visualize my memories, and move them from mind to brain. I could not fully return to those moments when I was a little girl caring for my grandfather and living for his smile. The pure love he gave me then ensures my survival today. All the three paintings have both a narrative and an abstract quality in the vacancy of figures, representing that the memory has never gone. The works also have a childlike quality, which is inviting, playful, and approachable.