0004-park_seobo-Ecriture_3_78

This painting is one of the artist’s early Ecriture works between the 1970s and the 1980s. He conceived the idea for Ecriture accidently from watching his young son repeatedly write and erase letters on a notebook while practicing his handwriting skills. It was the beginning of his experiments of unconventional techniques, which opened up an entirely new artistic world for Park Seo-Bo. In his early Ecriture works, he applied light greyish or ivory colour onto the canvas before drawing lines repeatedly with a pencil while the surface of the canvas was still wet. The paintings are an accumulation of this repetitive act, which coincides with religious practices carried out to reach the pure and meditative state of mind. “Myobop, Ecriture in Korean language, is about calming the mind in pursuit of the sublime beauty,” Park Seo-Bo said. Park Seo-Bo referred to white porcelain as he talked about the colours used in his early works. “Back in those days, I was so immersed in the charm of the white porcelain that I used to buy porcelain bowls and dishes in my dreams at night. Reflecting the night light, the porcelain took on a bluish hue as if it contained water in it. It was the colour of sheer purity. In my effort to recreate that colour, I frequently used colours such as greyish white, milky white and creamy white.”