Chung Doohwa
Doohwa Chung (b.1968)
Architecture of Time and Silent Books: A work that contains the process of a cycle in which a tree becomes paper and paper becomes a tree again, and a work that contains time in color
Artist Doohwa Chung, who deconstructs books, creates another kind of book. Strictly speaking, he creates sculptures using books as his subject matter, but in that he reinterprets the meaning of books, and so although the cases are different, he extends to books in that he still preserves the meaning of books. The artist classifies books collected by time period and reflects the texture and color of time contained in the books in his work. Old books that contain the scent of time give an old-fashioned feeling, while sculptures made by introducing new books give a modern and contemporary feeling. The artist’s work, which expresses the trajectory of time flowing in books in a plastic way, can also be said to be a representation of time. It can be said that he has constructed and built a kind of architecture of time that originated from books but is different from books. Also, there are no books, texts, or sounds in the artist’s sculptures. Nevertheless, the artist’s work is a book. It is a representation of books, texts, and sounds.
Among the artist's various series, the 'Sounds' series is a series of sculptures that spread out in concentric circles with a certain curve, just like the ripples that spread out when a stone is thrown into the water. Structurally, it is reminiscent of a speaker, and it makes us think about the directionality of the sound that spreads out from the center to the edge. It is a sculpture of the process of conveying a story, a sculpture of the process of the viewer encountering the artist, and a visualization of the resonating inner sound. The artist wants to visualize the sound and induce communication with them by feeling it.
‘A book full of sound that travels the path of time and empathy to communicate with someone again’
Although it is reconstructed by combining various kinds of books, in fact, there are no books, no texts, and no sounds in the author's sculptures. Nevertheless, the author's work is a book. It represents books, texts, and sounds. The author's work is, so to speak, a kind of silent book, a potential text (or meaning) before it is printed, and a book that resonates and evokes empathy with silent sounds. It is a book of thought that contains the colors of time.