Jaeyeon Yoo: Dream Weaving

15 Sep-21 Oct 2023

PV 15 Sep 2023, 6-9pm

Overview

UNION Gallery is pleased to present London-based Korean artist, Jaeyeon Yoo’s exhibition Dream Weaving. The array of works brings together the artist’s latest body of paintings, delving into the transcendent and enchanting realm of dreams and memory via the interplay of shifting boundaries between reality and imagination. The central axis is to create a surreal narrative that reminds us of fantasy literature.

Yoo's artistic journey takes us to an unknown place, a domain where thoughts blend with memories of both visited and uncharted territories. It is a place where certainty coexists with anxiety, where the artist embarks on a continuous exploration marked by attempts and failures. Knowledge, emotions, fantasies, dreams, and facts float like a ghost in the air, and at some point, they gently land on the painting, like dust settling.

Yoo's paintings weave a rich tapestry of emotions, where personal narratives merge desires, anxieties, guilt, and reflections on mortality. "The night walker" is a recurring motif in Yoo's work, yet the human figures remain elusive. These enigmatic figures hold a nervy presence in the landscape, inviting viewers to explore the purpose and essence of their existence. The figures are accompanied by anthropomorphic nature, street animals, and bird-like shapes that radiate as transformed beings yearning for the figure’s attention.

The intention is to diminish the prominence of the beings, embedding emotions into surrounding environment. Yoo's landscapes serve as portals to a fantastical setting where memory and imagination converge. The artist recognizes that natural elements in our world bear the weight of emotive reactions in their very essence, offering confines of the human experience.

In the density of a forest, one can feel the enchanting allure of life alongside the unsettling sensation of being watched. Vibrant blooms and ephemeral butterflies mirror the transient nature of life itself. Mountains and canyons evoke both the breathtaking majesty of nature and the disconcerting feeling of being a small, insignificant observer in a grand and ever-changing landscape. The moon and stars remind us of the vast mysteries that exist beyond our earthly realm. The landscapes become a conduit to emotions and memories, forging a profound and evocative connection with the viewer.

Yoo's paintings allow entry into an imaginative space where emotions and memories seamlessly blend, forging a deep and captivating connection with the audience, ultimately leaving them with feelings of fascination and introspection.