사라지는 공간의 비밀
Secret of the disappearing space.
In the fall of 2009, I walked past the World Trade Center site almost everyday to get to the studio. My relationship with the site became increasingly peculiar, because I never wanted to come near the site. The site had a feeling of great loss and absence. It was almost like a magical trick gone bad. I imagined David Copperfield’s disappearing statue of liberty gig gone mishap half way, and the statue wandering around mid air. I developed a complex path to avoid coming near the site. When I was making my way around, I learned to look at the contours of the buildings with great detail.
The negative space of World Trade Center site has an illusion of disappearance. Although it is hiding all indication of terror, the space is filled with mental images, that we have become educated through the repetition in the media. I observed a group of tourists coming to take pictures of the site. They are buying souvenirs and memorandums that will remind them of the terror. I found it interesting that the tourists came to the site to see something that they can not see, thus can only be obtained in the form of a cheap souvenir.
One day, I decided to confront the disappearing space, and walked to the site with a camera. I was no different from other tourists in the site. By taking pictures, I asked the space a question. “What are you hiding from me now?”
The answer was simple. “What are you hiding from me now?”
The space was avoiding being asked of any question. It only echoed my questions back to me. Secret of the disappearing space is hidden in the negative spaces between the buildings, where the most important things are absent.
