Chloe Yoo

This work is part of the “Net Project,” a series of works created as a project for university admission. The Net project was developed based on my personal experience in the summer of 2022, where something I used to believe would stay resilient shattered completely. In the process of confronting reality, I was laid upon words from the closest individuals. Although they were words that we use normally in our daily lives, it felt as if they were demanding to take away a part of myself. Eventually, these words piled up in my mind and overwhelmed me to the point that it was suffocating. I felt like a captured fish when I confronted these complex words. This experience led me to question the power of words. Words have significant power: They can alter one’s perspective, give incurable scars, soothe one’s mind, and motivate others. Inspired by these ideas, my investigation visualizes various scars from the words and explores their weight, invincible power, and complexity. Throughout the process, I also questioned how the process and art can heal my scars. Later, I applied artistic practices that would destroy the pessimistic representation of the works. It questions how art can be used as a tool to heal scars.

The power of words is explored with printing methods using a digital printer, a machine that is capable of mass-producing the same things over and over. I saw a resemblance between the burden of words and mass production. The weight of words is explored using heavy printing of words on surfaces. The invincible power of words is shown by investigating materials that create tension—nylon and wire, yarn and paper. Scars are shown with red yarn, representing blood; healing and resistance are shown by applying bandages and processes that would destroy the pessimistic representation of these works. The Net of Words I references the process. I experimented with printing techniques; I typed words, printed them on film paper, and stamped them on other types of paper (paper bags, newspaper, newsprint paper, etc.). I incorporated different surfaces of paper to execute different textures and to convey how consuming the same words that are repetitively said feel different.

I demonstrated revision in my sustained investigation by questioning how art can be used as a tool to heal the wounds from past experiences. For example, I utilized the symbolism of plaster and Band-Aid within the portfolio, recognizing the whiteness of plaster as a wound that is concealed and healed. Throughout the process, I revisited the Net of Words I, crushed it into a form, and concealed the words and yarns with white paint. This process represented my will to seal the words and metaphorically represent the whiteness of the transformed work with plaster and Band-Aid. The action of revisiting, crushing, and concealing the past work represents my action of confronting the wound from words.

My material choice and processes shaped the meaning of my works significantly. For example, when someone says something to me one time, it seems insignificant. However, as I hear phrases repeated, they become burdensome, and they pile up in my mind. I connect this concept with paper and utilize it metaphorically. One piece of paper is light, but multiple pieces are heavy. The process of printing continuously on the surfaces emphasizes the repetition of the same words that I heard from different individuals. My material choice of Band-Aid and plaster refers to my attempt to conceal and “heal” the marks that metaphorically represent scars, like the torn nylon socks. Applying plaster and Band-Aids on different works led to transforming every work to have a white surface, which creates a symbol with the color white. Eventually, the works that are revised with “white” (plaster) represent wounds that are healed and concealed.

He exposed me to various materials and discussed with me the direction of portfolio. He helped me to be conscious of how my action within the creation of art will shape how I speak the visual language.