In Soo-Young Jeong’s work the woods are thought of as reflecting
his inward self and representing some aspects of the present social
system, rather than being a place for play, amusement and repose.
We were taught to be purpose-oriented and faithful to the logic of
success as a child. Of course, I don’t intend to say that to
have a specific aim or to be successful is in no way desirable.
The woods are generally considered a haven for exhausted life and
a place we have to visit in every holiday. In Jeong’s work,
however, the woods appear to be something from which we wish to escape.
Departing from the fixed conception of a forest or other spaces for
repose, Jeong tries to see them from a disparate point of view.
His work seems to be a representation of the present state of our
life from which we aspire to move out but we do not know concretely
about. His forest we now see is perhaps not the woods. Looking closer,
it’s hard to see the time or the season his work represents
because it’s rendered entirely in black and white.
In other words, his painting seems to exclude timeness. Secondly,
its’ not easy to discern the sex and age of his figures as
they are portrayed merely as a form. Thirdly, the woods, main subject
matter of the artist doesn’t refer to a specific place.
