Bitter Candy, 2015
Bitter Candy, 2015, Sculpture (Sugar, soap, food color, spring, soil cement, flowerpot), 300*300*600mm
The more people become aware of how others perceive them, the more they tend to package their behavior with polite justifications.
In the pursuit of closeness, individuals often hide their authentic selves, fueling the belief that sincerity in relationships is disappearing.
What remains are manufactured versions of the self, shaped and distorted by the gaze of others.
This project begins by asking a series of questions.
What defines a faithful or truthful relationship?
Can we still believe in authenticity between people?
Or has the desire for genuine connection become nothing more than a futile hope?
Through this work, I invite viewers to question the real meaning of relationships in a world shaped by constant observation.
It examines the vague and performative bonds we form and presents them in a way that allows the audience to interact with that ambiguity.
There is an old saying: “Stranger Danger.”
It is a phrase that warns strangers may bring harm, but on closer inspection, it reveals a manipulative lens through which we frame others.
In Korean culture, this becomes, “Don’t follow a stranger who offers candy.”
Ironically, this suggests that the stranger offers goodwill, even as they are distrusted.
Today, however, the idea of “Stranger Danger” may no longer apply.
In a world shaped by what could be called “Neighbor Danger,” we grow more suspicious of those around us, constantly watching, judging, and hiding ourselves within the gaze of others.
In doing so, trust and sincerity gradually erode.
This work, made of soap sculpted to resemble candy, reflects that tension.
It is playful yet deceptive, inviting yet slippery.
Spring mechanisms embedded in the work suggest random directions, symbolizing the unpredictable paths our relationships take.
Ultimately, this work wants to ask:
What does trust mean in today’s world?
Can it still exist amid such constant performance?
우리에겐 익숙한 속담이 있다.
“낯선 사람을 조심하라 (Stranger Danger).”
낯선 이를 완전히 이해할 수 없다는 전제로 만들어진 이 문장은
사실상 상대에 대한 편견과 조작된 시선을 내포하고 있다.
한국에서는 이 문장이 “사탕 준다고 낯선 사람을 따라가지 마라”로 표현된다.
겉으로는 친절해 보이지만, 온전히 신뢰할 수 없다는 이중적인 메시지를 담고 있다.
하지만 오늘날에는 ‘낯선 사람’보다 ‘가까운 사람’이 더 위험한 사회,
즉 “Neighbor Danger”의 시대를 우리는 살아가고 있다.
서로를 끊임없이 관찰하고 평가하며, 시선 안에 갇혀 자신을 숨기고,
결국 신뢰와 진정성은 점점 희미해진다.
이 작업은 겉보기엔 달디 단 사탕처럼 보이지만 비누로 만들어져 있다.
보이는 이미지는 낯익고 친근하지만, 정체는 쉽게 씻겨나가고 맛볼 수 없는 재질이며,
스프링 장치는 관계의 방향이 어디로 튈지 모르는 불확실성을 상징한다.
나는 관객에게 끊임없이 질문하고싶다.
지금 이 사회에서 신뢰란 무엇일까?
우리는 아직도 진정한 관계를 믿을 수 있을까?
