- The Circulation of Light, the Equilibrium of Energy
Through "The Origin of Light," CHEOUNG MAA explores the archetype of the world. The works that transform light into energy create images that embody a "balanced painting seeking equilibrium in an imbalanced era," rendering reality faithfully and joyfully. When viewers encounter the origin of light within the painting, they instantly feel drawn into the central hall, a process akin to encountering the energy of self-realization, the awareness of "who am I."
If we seek the principles of East Asian cosmos from the perspective of "heaven is round, earth is square," the canvas becomes earth, and the rounded world within the artwork becomes the path to true inner self through equilibrium. In simpler terms, it can be a door leading from reality to the ideal world or a window transitioning from the internal to the external. The artist's pen name, Cheongma , encapsulates the instructive message of "Leap through the world in a valuable and verdant manner." In East Asia, the color blue signifies the sky's hue, as seen in azure porcelain or jade. This might explain why the artist's works exude the positive energy of "Treasure yourself."
Residing in various places within Tamil Nadu, South India, such as Chennai, Pondicherry, and Auroville, the artist Cheong Ma Kwon endeavored to capture the colors of nature's grandeur on canvas. Particularly, Arunachala Mountain in Thiruvannamalai, adorned with golden land extending into forests and meeting the clear sky on the horizon, becomes a place where the ever-changing hues of nature are vividly displayed. Cheong Ma Kwon artistically protrudes the central mandala through the conversion of the rapidly changing colors of nature into the energy of light. This becomes a conduit connecting the visible (reality or everyday life) and the invisible (inner self).
The texture of light produced through finger painting generates an energy of lively, vibrant vibes that harmonize with the "spectrum of colors" and extend infinitely. The variations of colors as per the viewing angle are so enchanting that one must truly see to feel the genuine pleasure of color. The reason why the artist's works are collected by influential figures in the international art market and domestic leaders might well be due to the "equilibrium of energy" that facilitates the discovery of one's authentic self.
- The "True Self" Discovered in The Origin
Regarding the rationale for depicting the origin of light, the artist explains, "By pursuing the warm essence that connects the internal and external aspects of humans, as well as ideals and reality, I aim to encounter myself within." Indeed, when faced with extreme suffering, the artist traversed various pilgrimage sites worldwide, seeking paths to enlightenment. The central pinnacle of the artwork draws inspiration from the realization of "Chakra" discovered during travels in India.
In Sanskrit, "Chakra" signifies a wheel or circle. Many philosophical systems and religious doctrines symbolize the theory of energy that unites the human body and mind as a Chakra.However, Cheongma does not seek the principle of awakening in religion or science but in the language of real-world art. The process of exploring the true self and expanding one's inner being aligns with the truth that even quantum physics commences with light, entering a realm smaller than atoms, where thoughts create reality. The belief that "thoughts create reality" correlates with the realization that, in the end, light is discovered within the quantum world—a truth that the greatest religions and sciences also find their selves within the source of light.
Ramana Maharshi (1879~1950), the Indian sage, revealed that the ultimate path to enlightenment lies in transcending the desires of the false self in reality by asking the question "Who am I?" and seeking the "True Self." Various levels of enlightenment have been explored through religious depictions such as the Buddhist transformation tableau or the theory of the multiverse.
The artist's paintings embrace the expansion of the universe we can explore and extend to questions beyond boundaries. The perspective that another universe exists apart from the one we experience (life) is a hypothesis commonly seen in Christopher Nolan's films (such as "Tenet" or "Interstellar"). The artist Cheong Ma Kwon completes the enlightenment based on realism through a variety of chromatic sensibilities, addressing questions like "How to resonate fragmented subjects in segmented worlds." He wholeheartedly embraces reality and derives energy from the artwork, leading to the realization of "Discover your true self."
- The 'Singularity of Light' that Positively Shapes Life
The artist's ideas that transcend religion and science evoke thoughts of Gauguin's masterpiece "Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?" We came from where? Who are we? Where are we going? If Gauguin aimed to reveal the origin of human existence during his most difficult period, Cheongma reverses this to positively shape our 'Past-Present-Future' as defined by ourselves. In the artist's worldview that embraces life with utter happiness, we experience various possibilities of the present life.
To achieve this, the artist devised a personalized technique called 'finger-dotting', where paint is applied to the finger and then pressed onto the canvas. Similar to the energy of the abstract impulse of the hatched pottery pattern, conceptualized as the abstract impulse of the embryo soil, this technique translates the energy of radiating light into the energy of the hand.
The technique scratches off the hatched lines and is engraved using a tool specially crafted by the artist. Stacking material as layers generates positive energy, while chiseling in reveals a balance with negative energy. This technique itself is the artist's process toward equilibrium and harmony. Like focusing one's mind while lighting a candle, the artist gathers pigments and connects the circulating energy of light toward the 'dot' as a bridge between the inner and outer selves. This highly concentrated act of collecting the mind leads the artist into 'no-self' , through which the energy of meditation is generated.
Cheong Ma Kwon seeks the purpose of life within the logic of light's origin and circulation, akin to destiny. The principles of modern physics, relativity theory, and quantum mechanics, which center on light, have also permeated into his works without any formula. But why light? There's no absolute time within the artist's works. Observers of these works all live in different times. All objects with mass warp the surrounding space, and light finds its own meaning within this warped space.
Expressing the logic of the circulation of energy we experience in reality, while meditatively discovering the emotional energy of the body and soul, constructs the 'mandala of art.' Expanding the mind beyond reality to another world reveals the inner self and enables the discovery of the true self. The process of transmuting this meditative experience into art can be seen as the journey of an artist who treads the earth, seeking the source of light.
AHJ (Art Critic, Ph.D. in Art Philosophy)