Monumental Garden - Eco Metro, Gwangju Biennale > Art Work

Canadian art critic Donald Brackett has paid attention to the meaning of boundaries in Young-churl Shim's works. In other words, he paid attention to the spirit of experimentation that constantly crossed the borders between “painting and sculpture, humanity and technology, universal and special, trust and distrust (…) especially the exotic wall between immanence and transcendence”.

Boundary reveals a double desire. The first is the self-protective instinct to emphasize the existential gap between oneself and others. The second is the primal desire to transcend that boundary. These double desires have become attractive subjects in real life and art, both suppressing and stimulating each other.

Young-churl Shim's <Monumental Garden> attempts another exploration of boundaries. It is the boundary between myth and reality. Clearly, myths are far from reality. But somewhere in our memory, it lives and breathes and dominates our consciousness. The fundamental question about life and existence is like a mythical question. In the darkness of the abyss reminiscent of a cave, dazzling LED lights shine. The memories of the womb, the birthplace of life, come to mind. In it, the temptation of light stimulates secret desire. Mushrooms, which were called 'beauty himself' in previous works, appear like a magnificent monument with an absolute creator and metaphor of life. As in the totem belief, the shamanic powers are condensed and the standing individuals radiate cosmic energy, wishing for eternal life.