▲ This photo of Lee Kwan-young's "G-Dragon PEACEMINUSONE," a sculpture visualizing G-Dragon's voice waveform is provided by JN Gallery. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE)(Yonhap)

 

SEOUL, Sept. 2 (Yonhap) -- G-Dragon's voice has been reborn as a 170-centimeter-tall illuminated sculpture. The work captures sound that disappears the moment it is spoken and preserves it as light.

 

Artist Lee Kwan-young, 58, is holding his solo exhibition "ECHOES" at JN Gallery in Gangnam-gu, southern Seoul.

 

The exhibition features five works that visualize voice waveforms extracted from human voices and sounds of nature as light sculptures.

 

▲ This photo of Lee Kwan-young's "Mother — Be Healthy" is provided by JN Gallery. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE)(Yonhap)

 

"PEACEMINUSONE" was created based on a voice recording the artist obtained after meeting G-Dragon in person. The work is made of resin, light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and steel and takes the form of a vertically rising sculpture.

 

"Sound of Waves" is closely connected to the artist's personal life. After being diagnosed with a terminal illness during his sophomore year of college, Lee spent three years recuperating in Gangneung after graduation.

 

Amid despair, he rode his bicycle every morning to Gangmun Beach, where the sound of the waves became the inspiration for a 255-centimeter-tall sculpture.

 

"Be Healthy," based on words spoken by Lee's mother, who is living in a nursing home, incorporates soil from the orchard where she farmed as a material. The work goes beyond visualizing a voice by bringing in the speaker's memories and the place where she lived.

 

Other works include "I Love You," based on words exchanged between the artist and his wife, and "Love," featuring the word spoken in the languages of 14 countries by the wives of ambassadors to South Korea who volunteer with the Korean Red Cross.

 

Lee graduated from Seoul National University's College of Business Administration and worked at the Samsung Foundation of Culture and Hansol Foundation for Arts and Culture before embarking on an artistic career.

 

Guided by his belief that "words have a soul," Lee has spent more than 20 years visualizing disappearing sounds through various media, including sculpture, digital printing, jewelry and video.

 

His works have also drawn on the voices of Cardinal Stephen Kim Sou-hwan saying "love," former U.S. President Barack Obama saying "hope" and John Lennon saying "peace."

 

Lee's works are held by the Babo Nanum Foundation, the U.S. Embassy in Seoul and Seongwoo Enterprise, among others.

 

The exhibition runs through Oct. 24.

[ⓒ K-VIBE. 무단전재-재배포 금지]