My job is to cut, bundle, tie, and transform hay into various “animal” forms. With the material that people call a “weed”,
I repeatedly ask myself, “When is meaning defined?” Does it happen when we “see” the shapes that are devalued, or after the lights hit and “animal-shaped shadows” appear, then the audience realizes the existence of something beyond what they actually see?
These questions about meaning lead me to think about social systems, norms, and beliefs that serve as “invisible lines”: they cannot be seen but shape people's behavior, decision-making, and values. Therefore, value does not emerge from an individual or object alone; it arises when the “light” or an “interest” of society reaches it - as it has the power to decide what to highlight and what to leave unattended.
This concept reflects Plato's Allegory of the Cave in The Republic, which raises the question: “What is truth?” Cave people see only shadows and take them as reality, though they are the result of limitations and perspectives. In this sense,
what we believe may be fragile and change over time. This makes us pause and think about human perception – if we adhere to repeated experiences or frame our thoughts within old ideas, we will never open and accept a “new truth”.
I create something similar to my work. I “regulate truth through a simulated world” by arranging objects and lights to create
a setting where the audience must decide which one to give meaning to, whether the weeds are transformed into shapes,
or shadows from lights and viewing.
Ultimately, my work is in the gray area between existing truth and created perception, as well as between internal values and values from others’ perspectives. Anyhow, I believe that everything in this world contains its own meaning, though it is covered or overseen by value systems that have been carried over from generation to generation.
