I have spent my life pushing away the thought of death; as if it were something remote which could only happen to others. When the COVID-19 pandemic washed over the planet in the first half of 2020, death continued to be an unpleasant, yet distant thought. Until people around me started to die. First Agora Gallery’s Art Director Eleni Cocordas; then my father in Chicago, during my solo exhibition in Seoul. It struck me like lightning on a clear day. Death had caught up with me and I could no longer ignore it.
Countless innocent people die every day, whether from disease or war. These deaths are not only theirs; they are ours as well. In the words of John Donne “Any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind. And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee.” In the wake of the pandemic, I have realized that my life and my art needed to be different. My latest series uncovers the ghosts I have pushed to the bottom of my consciousness. I selected photos of moss-covered tombstones taken with my phone, printed them out, pasted them on a canvas, covered them up, brought them back to life, and engraved names on top of them.
I titled two of my paintings after an ancient Latin epigram, memento mori, which means “remember you must die.” They feature names of poets, artists, philosophers and others who died throughout history; Eleni’s name is also present. RIP to the Lives Lost to COVID-19 is dedicated to the lives sacrificed to COVID-19. The image of my frozen tears recalls the refrigerated trucks in front of New York hospitals in March 2020. I had the feeling that everything was frozen and I still do today. I have realized, however, that death is not the end of life. Rather, it transforms into another medium and remains in the universe. It remains in our memories and comes back to life.
