The ten or so years of the reality that I witnessed while searching for corner shops may not have been a valuable lifestyle however there was definitely comfort and warmth in it. That is because there were not high walls, dense gates, sharp metal grating, and solid locks. To this day it plays the role of an emergency exit to the homely memories in my heart with its slightly open doors that allow one easy entrance. Some scoff the relative concept of corner shops by comparing them with awesome buildings armed with the most modern technologies or those with historical significance. From time to time as I walk through the skyscraper-ridden concrete jungle located at the center of the city, I am confused as to what represents our generation. When it is time for elections, high-ranking politicians always emphasize that they are like corner shops, the roots of the common public. A while ago, the CEO of a company declared that “10 years ago we also were a corner shop” and the topic was highly publicized. I am very happy when I happen to see a small corner shop on the street. The corner shops inside our memories share some common aspects in that they are simple, small, and affectionate. Just that the differences in interpreting and understanding that meaning, the fearful return to the past and the perfume of valuable memories may be different but it is known that for certain corner shops are deeply embedded inside the consciences of our generation. Reality and history can be an enjoyable virtue for one as well as a disgrace that someone else wishes to erase, but what can one do?

   All industries, such as chain stores, department stores, and internet home-shopping, have swerved towards being manufacturer-centered so consumption structure has surpassed its records, and when comparing with a consumer-centered corner shop, anyone with a sense of distance can easily figure out. In the digital age with mass quantity and when dumping tactics promote affluenza, people have to walk to the few small stores hidden among buildings that sell by small amounts and earn a little joy, making it borderline uncomfortable. However here there is bargaining and communication, allowing one to temporarily escape the war with information media. The flood that is consumption swept away even the concept of neighborhoods like a powerful typhoon, however one has the luxury of being able to relax in such places. The comprehension of time makes one realize the other meaning of things that easily vanish. That is because regret over the past always exists. That does not mean that one should discard automobiles and rides carriages or live without a computer. The flow of time cannot be stopped, however if that link is found, one can enjoy share and enjoy the abundance of memories. Like history and movies, corner shops also play the same role. At the last exhibition, while dodging local guards, I looked for and drew neighborhood corner shops that were too wasteful and elegant to dismiss that were standing firm despite being in some remote beach, in the middle of the mountains, or in a restricted area. Corner shops located downtown, such as family businesses and small supermarkets, were dismantled or disappeared under the banner of progress. The clock, calendar, mailbox, and even the chair that allowed people who passed by to rest have disappeared. When looking at some of the places that have disappeared recently, life seems to be so much emptier.

   Unlike the inarticulate and messy-looking scenery of corner shops, my drawing is consistent with a moderate composition. It is possible to see how even everything inside the store is organized. One can figure out what it sells and who is the owner. The goods stacked in the store are not organized as if it were an unsolvable code. The sharp pen has that effect and there is also a personal reason. The thought that “there is spirit even in small efforts” has with me the whole time I drew. Far from an artist who has to make many easy drawings, I experimented with repeating lines so as to emphasize on real image and to not make any single touch meaningless. It is not a for-entertainment automatic technical scribbling, nor the exercise or stroke of a nobleman doing mental training, nor an abstract drawing of someone who reached enlightenment. More than anything, the act of “see and draw” is the focus of my drawing, and the base of my work was to organize and share the representative emotions of this era. Beside it is mother. There is mother’s chest with the sewing box that she uses to repair torn clothing, and inside the snug blankets is a bowl of rice for I who came home breathing the chilly night air. Though it may be coarse, sewing kits, pillows and blankets with peony blossom patterns, the bowl of rice inside it, these examples of maternal love will continue in my works. I still am not able to show my drawings in various genres with the support of photography and engravings to promote a public arts project to save corner shops. That is because for now I still wish to find and draw more pictures that are much like the warm smile of a mother’s bosom.

August 2010 Lee MeKyeoung