Exhibition Title
Adventure in Wonderland
Artist
Artnom
Period
28th Dec 2021 – 28th Jan 2022
Venue
The Shopping Gallery Hilton #01-11, 581 Orchard Road, Singapore 238883
Art Critique: Artnom
Merry-Go-Round, an Invitation to the Innocence of Childhood
Cartoon characters of childhood, such as Hayao Miyazaki’s, have been revived in Artnom’s work. Following the previous exhibition that reinterprets the aura of a famous painting by today’s perspective, the artist has been reestablished with the contemporary artist spirit by borrowing animations that stimulate the innocence of childhood and images such as David Hockney. This is a deep concern about the great masters’ contemporariness and a transitional attempt to create ‘Artnom’sunique aesthetics of wit’ to create his own identity. The rainbow appearing in his work is the expression of the innocence to revive the fantasy of childhood rather than representing political feminism or social criticism. In Miyazaki’s animated film <Kiki’s Delivery Service> or in the well-known figure of fantasy aesthetics in the 19th century <Alice in Wonderland>, the artist’s philosophy was re-examined by parody and hommage, along with a pattern emphasizing a simple message. A clear sign of an inner journey that crosses the outer boundary is the establishment of Artnom’s unique individualization.
In an interview, the artist says his own beliefs about the interpretation of his work as follows: “I think the main motivation for my work is to sincerely express what I like rather than defining a certain subject with messages. The bunny girl is expressed as ‘branch’ and the naughty puppy as ‘Motaru’, but in fact, these characters are all different aspects of myself. Stories about the sense of jokes and humor, and my personality that I meet in the conversation with people I like became the motifs for interpretation of the work. The female main characters in this work are strong and integrated characters, and they were chosen by the pure humanism messages rather than carrying out woman’s right. For example, as the female character in <Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind> sacrifices herself with caring the nature and protecting the environment, my works pursue aesthetics of peace and comfort rather than conveying political messages.”
– Hyeon Jeong Ahn (Art Critic/Ph.D. in Art Philosophy)