Beatriz Guzman

Sur Mesure II

2022

AYLINE OLUKMAN Ayline Olukman is a multimedia artist whose work addresses the notion of intimacy, solitude and wandering, resulting in photography, painting, writing, etching and dra...

AYLINE OLUKMAN Ayline Olukman is a multimedia artist whose work addresses the notion of intimacy, solitude and wandering, resulting in photography, painting, writing, etching and dra...

The medium of choice for Do Byung-Kyu, born in Cheonan, Korea, is dolls: they are both his conceptions and his physical expression. At the same time dolls are also the perfect tool for communicating the artist’s inner self. Expressing himself by means of dolls liberates Do from the restrictions of the mundane world. By embodying in the form of dolls his actions and thoughts, dreams and desires, and even the instincts lying in the depths of the subconscious, he transcends the secular boundaries. Dolls are his alter ego, his other self that he can construct precisely the way he wants. Sublimating the experiences and memories from his youth into various subjects of desire, Do uses dolls to paint a descriptive picture of the ambiguous feelings of contradictions from his childhood when he would abuse and kill a plaything, for example a frog, then bury the body in solemn mourning over its death. These sexual or violent games from his childhood are not likely to be limited to Do’s experiences alone. Most of us can vaguely remember indulging in sadistic acts of sexual love against a doll. Rising above a child’s simple curiosity, it is an intuitive game of the senses we play by ourselves. In a number of Do’s paintings, sticky liquid can be observed dripping down a doll’s face. This brings back recollections of the life inside our mothers’ womb where we were also enveloped by mucous waters, like the amniotic fluid. It refuses contact with the anything, and nothing wants to touch it either. The shape of such a mucous liquid is a protective layer sheltering the intrinsic identity and desires of man. It is also a substitution that satisfies the ego’s instincts otherwise suppressed by social norms. The dolls’ eyes...

The medium of choice for Do Byung-Kyu, born in Cheonan, Korea, is dolls: they are both his conceptions and his physical expression. At the same time dolls are also the perfect tool for communicating the artist’s inner self. Expressing himself by means of dolls liberates Do from the restrictions of the mundane world. By embodying in the form of dolls his actions and thoughts, dreams and desires, and even the instincts lying in the depths of the subconscious, he transcends the secular boundaries. Dolls are his alter ego, his other self that he can construct precisely the way he wants. Sublimating the experiences and memories from his youth into various subjects of desire, Do uses dolls to paint a descriptive picture of the ambiguous feelings of contradictions from his childhood when he would abuse and kill a plaything, for example a frog, then bury the body in solemn mourning over its death. These sexual or violent games from his childhood are not likely to be limited to Do’s experiences alone. Most of us can vaguely remember indulging in sadistic acts of sexual love against a doll. Rising above a child’s simple curiosity, it is an intuitive game of the senses we play by ourselves. In a number of Do’s paintings, sticky liquid can be observed dripping down a doll’s face. This brings back recollections of the life inside our mothers’ womb where we were also enveloped by mucous waters, like the amniotic fluid. It refuses contact with the anything, and nothing wants to touch it either. The shape of such a mucous liquid is a protective layer sheltering the intrinsic identity and desires of man. It is also a substitution that satisfies the ego’s instincts otherwise suppressed by social norms. The dolls’ eyes...

Echoes of the Present is an oil on canvas painting, 23.75 x 17.75 inches, signed and dated 'KOSTABI 2018' lower left. Framed in a contemporary black frame.

Twilight Serenity is an oil on canvas painting, 31.5 x 23.75 inches, signed and dated 'KOSTABI 2021' lower left. Framed in a contemporary black frame.

Three Graces is an oil on canvas painting, 17.75 x 23.75 inches, signed and dated 'KOSTABI 2019' lower center of image. Framed in a contemporary black frame.

This is the left panel of what was originally a diptych, hence the name, but the right panel is no longer available. A new right panel will be made shortly. This painting in delicate...