Maybe this is an attempt to see the impossible. Can we just
observe the traces without distinguishing between left and
right - or even neutrality; without analysing the causes or
consequences, gains or losses?

​

A white-washed wall, pristine yet intrinsically marked with the
happenstance of time, opens the door for a myriad of
interpretations and designs of the imagination. The hand of
Park Seungmo reveals the progression of his meditations
from ‘ego’ to actions of the mind. Gone are the immaculate
wire-wrapped objects that unravelled the circular narrative of
the search for self, and the echoes of existential ponderings
of the wire mesh sheets for which he is recognised. Here,
sheets of white paper embalm a massive scene, intrusive
when viewed from one side and reclusive when viewed from
the other. Immediately the mind embarks on its journey,
starting with ‘what is it?’, while grappling with perceptions of
truth and reality.

​

Confronting the instinctive fictional imaginings of his own
mind, Park’s Seon (Zen) Buddhist foundation and the
Buddhist meditation practice of vipassana underpin this
sculptural installation. Wandering around the ruins of the
former Korean Worker’s Party Headquarters in Cheorwon,
Gangwon-do, in the northernmost region of South Korea,
Park captured images of the nation’s history as etched onto
the walls of this building. A local branch of the Communist
Worker’s Party, as the area was North Korean territory before
the Korean War (1950-53), within its Soviet-style walls
leaders kept an eye on the local population. Bones, bullets
and barbed wire were discovered in a tunnel behind the
office, likely the remains of those accused of anti-communist
activities. The battles for the ‘iron triangle’ region in mid-1951 left it a burnt-out shell.