Many of my Sumi-e(ink painting) motifs are mountains, but their concept lies in the expression of silence. The silence I speak of is not the soundless time between words, but rather that which constantly exists behind words, the place from which words are born and to which they return, that which gives meaning and reality to words. And I feel that this  reality and ourselves are similarly given meaning and reality by this silence.

   Many of the world's religions have deep connections with mountains, and silence there holds immense significance. This is because the divinity of mountains and the human spirit connect through silence. How can this silence be expressed in a painting? I use ink on paper, leaving the mountains unpainted. The mountains that emerge from the jet-black background are, upon closer inspection, the paper itself. Within this interplay of void and substance, where what appeared to be drawn is actually unpainted and what was visible fades away, I see the nature of reality as expounded by various world religions and cutting-edge science. For example, the 'In the beginning' of the Bible and the Rig Veda, the Buddhist 'form is emptiness, emptiness is form,' or the models of matter and the universe presented by quantum mechanics.

   Since the modern era, humanity has been liberated from the constraints of God, and the pursuit of desire has been justified as an individual right. Consequently, people have utilized nature, science, and even reason to achieve this, and as you know, the result has been the destruction of the global environment and the desolation of the human spirit. Viewed from another perspective, it can be said that humanity has lost its connection to silence by creating words from words, becoming lost in the clamor. The world of words and the thinking that functions through them is a world of relative values. It is the fate of words and thought to constantly compare without ceasing, endlessly diffusing into the clamor of desire and conflict. One of the roles of art is to reflect or anticipate the times through its concept, presenting new values and paradigms. In the coming era, the recovery of a healthy global environment and spirituality will be more important than ever. For that, we need words that are deeply connected to silence, not just words consumed in the noise. The same is true for painting. 

   This silence is also related to the so-called search for oneself. The act of searching for oneself inevitably falls into contradiction, like an eye trying to see itself. Before the separation of self into subject and object, before thoughts and emotions arise, the true self exists, and that place is silence. To paint pictures that connect with silence, I detach my individual self from the creation process, trying not to enter the painting. Just as a clear mirror reflects a person's image well, a painting devoid of the artist will be clear and well reflect the silence of the viewer. Thank you. (May 2025)