“Please take care of this” (2023), meok and acrylic on hanji, 92 x 72 centimeters. All images © Moonassi, shared with permission
Pensive faces, ambiguous light sources, and mysterious spaces characterize the atmospheric drawings of Moonassi, whose solo exhibition Murmures at Vazieux Gallery delves into the surreal world of memory and emotions.
In black-and-white ink and acrylic, the Seoul-based artist cross-hatches figurative scenes onto Korean hanji paper, portraying deep contrasts, dualities, and tensions. Rich, black shadows reveal glowing hands and faces, exploring relationships between light and dark, awareness and the unconscious, presence and absence, and the known and unknown.
Moonassi uses meok, a type of traditional Korean inkstick ground against a stone with water to produce a liquid medium. The meditative process of preparing the ink helps the artist focus on the task at hand and concentrate on each step.
Describing his work as “mind illustration,” Moonassi’s pieces focus on pairs or twins in uncanny situations like tending to a flame inside one of their heads, peering into a void, or tying their arms together with string. His subjects represent psychological and spiritual dichotomies that exist both within individuals and in relationships, creating a dreamlike world which invites myriad interpretations.
Murmures continues in Paris through February 24. See more on Moonassi’s website.
“Keep you burning” (2023), meok and acrylic on hanji, 92 x 72 centimeters
“Dive into uncertainty” (2023), meok and acrylic on hanji, 92 x 72 centimeters
“Superposition X” (2024), meok and acrylic on hanji, 48 x 34.5 centimeters
“Seeing alone together” (2024), meok and acrylic on hanji, 142 x 102 centimeters
“Tie the knot” (2024), meok and acrylic on hanji, 102 x 142 centimeters
“Light we found” (2024), meok and acrylic on hanji, 142 x 102 centimeters
“Two times two” (2024), meok and acrylic on hanji, 142 x 102 centimeters
“Light we prepared” (2024), meok and acrylic on hanji, 93 x 119 centimeters
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