"Ein Schritt zur inneren, innersten Zeit"

Artist’s Notes   Sung Min Kim Feb. 2025

I.
My pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela on the northern coast of Spain last summer began with a sense of nostalgia, even though it was a road I had never been to.
I believed that if I knocked on the ground with my feet while walking on the road, I would have a mother who would open the door and receive me. I had something like a conviction that my visit and my presence would bring comfort and strength to her tired face. Or perhaps I should say it was a hope.
May I bury my face in the sound of the mother's heart and fall into a deep sleep there.
May I then wake up with her heartbeat and make my steps along with it.
May my mind and soul melt into her heartbeat and be endowed with clear eyes to see through pains and hopes of the mother.
The road to Santiago de Compostela itself might not be very special. Pilgrims who come from all over the world might find other routes they know more beautiful and wondrous. It cannot be proved whether a holy path really has mystical power. What is certain, however, is that it is the presence of the people who visit the place, and their wishes, passions, sorrows and penances that continuously nourish the place. The people and the landscapes I met along the road put me on the path to my own inner self, and that is what makes this pilgrimage special.
 
II.
A living breathing sky
Living breathing ocean
And the living breathing earth.

Born of their love, we are their children. We are the place where their breaths meet, and we are the doorway to them. Perhaps these children can do something to restore their mother, Mother Earth, from her sickness and suffering. In the deepest part of our hearts, we are always children. I set foot on the pilgrimage to my heart. I walk the steps with my brush. Until the door to my heart wide opens.
Feb. 2025