유정
Korean, 1998
Education
2021 B.F.A. in Oriental Painting, Department of Fine Arts, College of Arts, Dankook University
2024 M.F.A. in Oriental Painting, Department of Painting, Graduate School, Dankook University
2025–Present Ph.D. Candidate in Oriental Painting, Department of Fine Arts, Graduate School, Dankook University
Group Exhibition
2024 Incheon Hotel Art Fair, KMJ Gallery, Incheon, Korea
Introduction
This body of work focuses on anxiety, one of the many emotions experienced by people. Most modern individuals live with anxiety caused by various factors—constant exposure to stimuli, repeated stress, and the complexity of contemporary life. Often, people are not even aware of the anxiety that lingers in their daily lives.
Such anxiety tends to remain in the unconscious realm, stemming from unprocessed psychological factors triggered by external stimuli. The artist expresses this unconscious anxiety through the traces left on bedding after sleep. The bedding is a space of rest and recovery—an ideal place of retreat from external stress and stimulation. Through the act of sleep, people attempt to relieve psychological anxiety accumulated while awake. However, since not all anxiety is resolved during sleep, unconscious anxiety often manifests as dreams or restlessness.
These physical traces—wrinkles and creases on the bedding—visually interpret the presence of unconscious anxiety. The appearance of the bed after waking is always different, shaped by the sleeper's movements during sleep. The random wrinkles created by tossing and turning are the result of actions driven by anxiety during sleep, and they symbolize the final form of unconscious fear.
Through lines and surfaces, the artist visualizes the depth of such anxiety. The use of achromatic tones prevents viewers from identifying the bedding’s owner, making it impossible to guess the gender, age, or race. This anonymity implies that unconscious anxiety is not limited to a particular individual but is a universal human condition.
The artist believes that even in sleep—the deepest realm of the unconscious—anxiety persists. The irregular, unstable forms left on the bedding after sleep become metaphors for the lingering anxiety, and the work attempts to give shape to the formless nature of psychological unrest.