My work started from another piece of work by Richard Hamilton, a British pop artist from the 1950's. His work, 'What is it that makes today's home so different, so appealing?' (1956) is a collage work which shows the change of an era with a sense of wit. When I encountered his work, I started thinking about this topic and I became much more observant about what family has come to mean and how the role of family has changed over time. But the most significant motivation behind my work comes from the changes in my own life.
I got married and became a father. I have started building a family of my own. Having a child and raising one is something that is completely new and different. Children are indeed blessings. It's amazing how much love I can feel inside of me and the scale of love I can give someone. Just looking at my own daughter fulfills my life with happiness. But this obviously is not the whole story. It's also a very gruesome experience that you live with someone else in a system called family and the gruesomeness escalates when you face your own alter ego, another being with a lot of your genetic traits. Sometimes I am filled up with so many different feelings, some conflicting to one another when I look at my child's face. My child forces me to face my own flaws and see myself through her, which makes me very anxious. But that anxiety has always been there regardless. I realised the root of that anxiety comes from my constant seeking of meaning of that exact anxiety. Hence, I decided to take things as they are (il y a = There is) before I try seeking meaning in every day life that I live.
I believe I could see the things that cannot be explained when they are not sought after for meaning. Through this process, I wanted to see what the real issues are before I suggest any solutions or answers. The conservative ideology of traditional meaning of family is still popular even though deconstruction of family continues to make a steady progress. This conservative value system seems to hold it stronger in the midst of all the changes and confusions. I hope my 『Family Prospect』 series can offer various fresh views to the audience.
- Sun Hee Hwang

*image (left)
Sun Hee Hwang
A playground, 2013,
archival inkjet print, 150x180cm
courtesy of the artist and Gallery K.O.N.G