One of the artists is Sarah Helen Epp.  She came to Korea from Canada after graduating from York University’s Fine Arts Department two years ago and she has displayed her work individually and collaboratively on a number of occasions.  Additionally, Ms. Epp has been involved in Gwangju’s art community as one of the founding members of the Gwangju Artist Collective and she recently facilitated a several-week workshop for artists called ‘My Life in Gwangju.’

L.A. White is the second and she studied Visual Communication Design at Massey University in New Zealand before she came to Korea in 2006.  She has also lived and worked in Japan, and she has participated in three group exhibitions prior to this one.  She works with oil on canvas and ink and watercolor on paper, and she is also partial to taking photographs and sculpting small wax figures.

The third artist is John McMartin, and in addition to his having studied history, fine arts, and education, Mr. McMartin has also exhibited his work in his home province of Ontario, Canada, on several noteworthy occasions.  He is an art and history teacher and he has taught children’s pottery classes also, and he has travelled extensively throughout Canada and the United States.

All three artists have studied and produced art, and all three artists currently live in Korea.  During a recent interview I discovered that despite these similarities, however, the works the artists will display during their joint exhibition couldn’t be more different.

Ms. Epp will display two series of digitally manipulated drawings and photographs which attest to her interest in and study of human manipulation of the natural world.  “My first series is entitled ‘The Restaurant Logo Series,’” she explained, “and it explores themes of food production and representation.  The second series is entitled ‘Manufactured Solutions for a Dying Planet’ and it darkly illustrates the collision between manufactured culture and the natural world.”

Ms. White’s oil paintings, on the other hand, are particularly informed by personal and intercultural relationships.  “As a foreign, white woman,” she explained, “I have found that Koreans and Westerners are often surprised to find that my long-term boyfriend is Korean.  Although many are happy for us, I have also experienced negative reactions to our relationship.  With my work I want to confront people’s attitudes to intercultural relationships – as well as my own.”

Mr. McMartin, finally, is a potter, and his art will be displayed alongside that of Ms. Epp and Ms. White.   Particularly important to Mr. McMartin is his creative process: “I start from basic shapes and concepts and encourage each piece to grow and develop a life of its own… Mistakes often produce some of my best results. For me, art is about process; most of the time it is a rather meditative experience and, occasionally, it is a struggle.”

Looking at his finished works, however, one would never think this is the case.  His art, like that of the others, is polished, thought-provoking, and inspiring.

Please join Mr. McMartin, Ms. White, and Ms. Epp this Saturday for the opening of The Questioner, The Outsider, and The White Adjumma (질문자 와 왕따 와 백인 아줌마).  The opening, which will take place downtown at GIC’s GAIA Gallery on the fifth floor of the Jeon-il Building (across from the YMCA), will coincide with Saturday’s GIC Talk.  The exhibition will run until July 17^th.

For more information, please see:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Questioner-The-Outcast-and-The-White-Adjumma/122443824463326