The Black Garden; the intersection of reality and the ideal world Young-hak Park has long captured the natural scenery of mountains, trees, rice fields, villages, and the waters. They all are nature itself. What’s ‘unseen’ among the evident natural elements, is human. The artificial, so-called ‘civilized’ area is only outlined in black lines, so one can only guess its empty presence. As if to protect ‘nature’ from ‘humanity’, all traces of human beings have been removed or evaporated out of the scene. On the other hand, ‘trees’ plainly reveal and signify the vitality of nature. The elaborate portrayal of trees densely fills the screen while embracing the blank space and empty existence as well. In the , the matter of subject is arranged in disorderly freedom, rather than by a strict discipline. The geometric lines of charcoal shatter previous system of symmetry, and exude their own vitality with unchained rhythms. At times the red and blue hues all over the canvas also seem to highlight the vibrant energy of nature. The monotonous screen filled with dense lines of charcoal and pastel may give a sense of dryness and opacity, but at the same time delivers the simplicity and frankness of nature. Park suggests that the ‘Black Garden’ exists ‘beyond the landscape’. This reminds us that the ‘ideal world’ lies within the ‘real world’, and that the space ‘beyond’ is an invisible passageway between the two worlds. In other words, the Black Garden reaffirms that the ideal world within the reality, and vice versa, always prevails in front of us, and that it is discovered through mutual relationships. -excerpt from an exhibition review, Jungjoo Choi