캐릭터 X의 탄생 “LIFE IS FUN” 시리즈의 파생된 캐릭터로 현대인의 다양한 페르소나(가면)을 동물 캐릭터들을 통해서 재미있고 위트있게 표현하고자 하였다. “LIFE IS FUN”을 테마로 시작된 X의 표식은 자의가 아닌 타의에 의해 무조건적으로 규정된 틀에 반대하는 상징적 의미와 작가에 대한 존재의 표식 등 다의적 의미로 작품에 활용된다.
또한 X의 이미지는 삶과 일상에 늘 존재(어려움, 길들여짐, 장애물, 경쟁 등)하는 대상으로 이겨야 할 존재가 아닌 즐겨야 할 대상으로 접근한다. X 캐릭터를 활용하여 응용되는 시각물과 색채를 강조하여 영상매체 등 팝아트를 넘나들며 자유롭게 메시지를 표현한다.
About the Artist / Biography and Notes
I am pop artist Jung King. Currently, I am working with color media, painting, and objects on the theme of “LIFE IS FUN.”
Work Notes—The Birth of Character X: “LIFE IS FUN”
The X symbol has many meanings, including a sign of the existence of the artist—that one’s will should not be framed by the will of others. In addition, the X image is characterized as something (difficulties, domestication, obstacles, competition, etc.) that is always present in daily life and is thus to be enjoyed, as opposed to something to be fought against. Character X is used to emphasize the application of visual objects and colors, so that it can express its message freely across the spectrum of pop art including video media. Works created in this way convey a message that life is enjoyable, so it is to be dealt with in a joyful way.
Today, people talk to each other constantly but are unable to truly communicate with each other, leading to a great deal of confusion and abstruseness. In such circumstances, an individual wanders constantly and struggles to fit into the world’s framework.
An individual’s inner self is planned and constructed like a gray city, rendering oneself framed into the existing structure of the world. In this highly restricted world, the characters, who unfold the imagination on our behalf, appear as heroes; or else we ourselves come to born again as heroes.
Sometimes, deviating from all this makes resolving problems more fun. Working with a character makes the work visual, through which the alienated can deviate from their internal world and their burdensome gray space, thus recovering their true feeling of presence. Further, those who are dreaming of deviating from the world and whose places are taken by Character X come to muster their courage and thus to satirize the world. While restrictions and norms are visualized in a gray frame, internal and external sensibilities can transcend the space where people live, producing both a socially directed space and a visualized, fantasy space. Imagination is freedom. Character X says, “Why so serious? LIFE IS FUN!”
Title: For Jackpot to Create Jackpot
Jung King, Pop Artist
Q, Please tell us about yourself and your exhibition.
Hello, my name is Jung King.
I am a pop artist who works with different objet, painting, and media, to work around the topic: “Life Is fun”.
For this exhibition, I’m trying to communicate with people about rather difficult stories about the society and individuals through various characters.
If you take a look, some of them are colorful, while others are not. Each of them are different with different elements.
You know how music and poetry also have implications...
If you such messages, you’ll be able to understand what pop art is and communicate on many different levels.
Q. Can you tell us about the topic of this exhibition?
I have subtopics under the big umbrella, ‘Life is fun’, and if you look at the paintings, you’ll see X marks.
Usually, the sign X conveys something negative: if could be personal complex or a stigma. Life doesn’t always work out the way we want it to work out.
But we should have fun in trying to resolve them, rather than trying to compete against them. X symbolizes having fun trying to solve the difficulties in our lives.
This time, I have something called the Jackpot Series.
By jackpot, I mean great luck and infinite potential that comes from within self rather than from the outside. Through Jackpot Series, I wanted to tell people to explode energy and possibilities.
If you observe this series, you will see jackpot in the middle of the character.
Jackpot symbolizes great luck and potential that lies within oneself. They don’t come from the outside world. People already have jackpots within, and they should ‘hit the jackpot’.
I hope the audience will realize great jackpots within themselves as they view my work.
Q, Can you tells us about this work?
This work is the representative work for the Jackpot Series, and it’s called ‘Bounce in the Beginning’.
It may sound very alien, but it shows my interpretation of the Creation as described in the book of Genesis.
If you look, Adam and Eve are surfing, and here are the fruit and the serpent.
When humans are first created, our heart beats very rhythmically.
But as we live on, our lives become so standardized and regulated, we often forget to see how fun it can be. I wanted to challenge that with this work.
As these people evolve, they are already bouncing. And these jackpot families are getting ready to hit the jackpot.
If you view these media-connected works in a sequence, people are dancing in various ways, as they evolve from anthropoids to space travelers.
You can see them hitting the jackpot. And I hope my audience will bounce along together. Thank you.
JUNGKING