I was in Paphos, Cyprus.
The series of those prints are made around the theme of questioning what is "the beauty and love", started in Pahos in Cyprus.
Pahos is the place is known for Greek mythological figure, Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love and Beauty. There, I saw beautiful dynamic nature, mediterranean climate, unique history, mythologies, historical heritages, warm people and everything else were so foreign and exotic to me.
In such an environment, I wanted to create the work which were related to Paphos, especially on Love and Beauty wherein Aphrodite was born.
I have been always curious what is really the meaning and concept of “beauty”, “love” and “freedom” such words, regardless those words are commonly used in our daily lives, cultures, and also as we have always attempted to depict in art. But how many people really think what it is for themselves?
In the project, I have asked local people, from 4 years children to eldery people, what they thought of love and the beauty for them. I got many answers, but many poeple mentioned Nature, family, and etc.
As one of the results as series, I wanted to create the work that combines their local nature and also that captures the moment of life, as for me as an anwer to myself.
There, I have decide to embrace what is there; I happen to stay at this place is called “ Kimonos art center”, where they had a press machine for printing, had a nice garden with many kinds of vital trees, having full of blossoms and lots of fruits, which are grown by mediterranean warm climate. So I have collected the varieties of leaves and flowers around the workshop right before printing, because they had to be fresh each time. And I have made the collages with them on the printing machine right before pressing.
The result was suprising and beautiful to me as they created detailed embosses of individual leaves, their veins and structures, and shapes of white and black silouettes.
For me, it felt like all the elemtns that composing the work; the making process, materials and moments of happening, were capsulated in those papers.
With this appreciation for this fleeting life time, I feel I could relate to the feeling of the love and beauty.
I hope to continue to create these series in different cities.
