In the busy landscape of modern cities, where we are surrounded by various stimuli and interactions,

questions about personal identity and purpose of existence often arise.

Kim Young-il explores these existential quests and captures the essence of urban life for city dwellers

through creative expression. Born from a deep sense of disconnection and self-reflection in the urban landscape, 

Young-il's series serves as a deep exploration of the meaning and conditions of human existence in a metropolitan environment.

The Forgetting Series, which expresses Young-il's concerns about the existence of human existence,

is rooted in existentialist philosophy. He was particularly influenced by thinkers such as Martin Heidegger, Jean-Paul Sartre,

and Karl Jaspers. Heidegger's concept of being-in-the-world, Sartre's concept of being-other and being-for-itself,

and Jaspers' concept of the inclusive provided a framework for exploring his own artistic exploration.

The core of this philosophical inquiry is the idea of establishing relationships with oneself and others through self-reflection

and existence, which defines one's own state of existence by becoming a subject from the influence of the city's cultural

and social environment.

Young-il has been creating the Forgetting series since 2009.
At the core of his creations lies the fundamental question, ‘What have humans forgotten?’

His observations thus reflect existentialist themes of self-reflection and authenticity for city dwellers struggling

with their own existence amidst urban disorder.  Cities, with their numerous interactions and stimulation, become a stage

where individuals seek validation and recognition from others, conscious of their gaze, 

while often forgetting their own selves due to their unique production and consumption methods.

For such a stage, Focusing on elements such as clothing stores, shop windows, mannequins and artificial lighting,

his artistic expression emphasizes the role of urban cross-sections in their intimate relationship with human existence.

This means that an individual's identity is not found in internal factors such as self-reflection and self-judgment,

but rather in external factors such as urban cultural phenomena and social crowd psychology.

He recognizes this as a phenomenon that seeks to define an individual's identity from the verification and recognition of others,

including external factors.  Through his art, he encourages viewers to think about the complex relationship

between the external expression of an individual's identity and the inner truth. 

In his Oblivion series, Young-il expresses the shop windows in his works in a splendid way,

but he says it is not to praise the splendor of the city. 

He simply says that it is to reveal the sad reality of city people who are deceived by external factors such as the splendor of the city

and forget or lose themselves as real beings.

In the Forgetting Series, Young-il presents active reflection on the existential dilemma inherent in existence in the city.

By juxtaposing vivid images of urban life with his explorations of personal identity and the meaning of existence, 

Ultimately, his work stands as a testament to man's ongoing

struggle to find the authenticity of his individual purpose of existence amidst the complexities of modernity.                                                  

  Youngil  KIM