Timeleap V, 2022

Minseok Kang  

This work begins from a single point in time and space. The condensed energy at the center of the canvas becomes an origin, and from that point the form of a car surges sharply toward the left. Yet this is not merely a depiction of speed. In the moment when the density of time and the pressure of the inner self erupt in one direction, the car transforms beyond a concrete object into an abstract trajectory.

Through the automobile, I speak of myself. Competition, anxiety, desire for the future, and fear collide and emerge as a distorted vehicle. The elongated and fragmented body, stretched by velocity, reveals the instability of my identity in reality—while at the same time expressing the will to move through that instability. The act of racing is not a contest with others, but an inner impulse to continuously surpass myself.

A defining feature of this work is the embroidered straight lines sewn repeatedly across the surface. These artificial lines symbolize constructed time. If the painterly gesture is an explosion of emotion, the embroidery floss becomes the rational axis that pierces through it. Tightly stretched across the canvas, these linear interventions visually fix the sensation of speed while simultaneously dividing and deconstructing space. The combination of paint and thread creates a tension that exceeds the flat surface, disrupting the boundary between abstraction and figuration.

records a moment where past and future intersect. The sensation of near-light speed embodies both a longing to reach the future and a struggle to hold onto the present. The surge that begins from a single point ultimately reveals the structure of time and the inner architecture of my identity.

This work is not merely the image of a car, but a self-portrait—an attempt to affirm my existence within the flow of time.