Lot 1172: PARK SANG HEE

PARK SANG HEE
(Born in 1969)
Everyday Scene-Snack & Toystory
two acrylic on sheet cutting
100 x 100 cm. (39 1/4 x 39 1/4 in.) x 2 pieces
Painted in 2006 & 2005

Drawing inspiration from the dynamics of the daily life of Korean cities, Park Sang Hee's works are fascinating images of vivid street scenes. The manufacturing process of her work is to attach layers of plastic-adhesion to a canvas and cut it along a form with a knife. She thereby creates a feeling of depth that emphasizes her artistic deconstruction of the city, while using acrylic paint for finer treatment. In her works, the streets are a melted symphony of color, light and movement.
In Everyday Scene-Snack (Lot 1172), written Korean characters, both literally and physically fill the canvas in a repeating sequence of potato chip packets. Yellows, orange, browns, and red are juxtaposed against the dark Korean writing on the packets aligned liked soldiers. The chip packets stand in military like fashion waiting to be picked and consumed for duty. Despite their simple role to replenish and serve the vices of society, snacks are often incubators for other issues, waiting to be aired in a chaotic scene. Park's Toystory (Lot 1172) is reflective of a secondary consumption in society: Blatant commercialism. Bright colours of white, and blue are offset by splashes of colour, bringing life to the toys caged in their falsified existence. Although both works have an upbeat manner and character, Park has taken a whimsical approach to highlighting the unnecessary objects in everyday life. Society has elevated the banale on a pedestal, not necessarily deserving of its rise. Snack and toys go hand in hand with the impromptu purchase. The adorable elephant and kitschy cartoon characters on the packaging, sweeten the pull of reckless abandonment and purchasing lack of power. Park deliberately avoids clearly defined contours and shapes, constructing her works out of abstract fields and flecks of color and scattered fine lines, to reduce the scene to an expression of atmosphere and feeling.
Although Park's works are related to cities in Korea, her unusual use of material helps her in creating an atmosphere that can only be found in a big city. Park Sang Hee's works are universally identifiable to metropolitans regardless of which city they may call home.