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Prologue (서시 序詩)

2022, Pen on paper, 27.5cm

x 21cm (set of 3)

My dear friend Sujin,

It has been a long time since I received the letter.

Sorry for this late reply.

All this time I was searching for myself.

I was happy when I heard that you were reducing the number of your works in the company and

preparing to start a business in order to do your own thing, and when you spoke in a jubilant

tone about ‚life after change’. And after that, when I heard that your business was on the road to

success, I got my hands on my chest for a while to keep that feeling of relief and joy for a little

while. I think you know better what it feels like. Dear friend, congratulations.

But soon I started thinking about ‘life after change’. Not long ago, I read some questions in

William Morris‘ prose. Those questions made me look at our attitudes anew. These are messing

around with my head.

What do we do next when we have all we hoped for? The media is noisy every day that a new

world has opened, but what about the reality in front of us? Is it okay? We enjoy long hours of

leisure that we might not have wished for. We open our books and read whenever we feel like it,

we travel to the warm south, we enjoy simple and safe adventures, and we spend our leisure

time travelling in search of all sorts of delicacies. But I realised it after moving to Berlin for a

while. That we will be able to enjoy our leisure time only when all the messy mistakes and

thoughts in the world are corrected and the people who share lowly thoughts can respect

others. I believe this is not just limited to this space of Berlin, which I pass by, and the time of

2022.

I don’t think we can relax yet. At least you and I can’t relax.

I should have started in London or Seoul, but then I was too weak and didn’t know the world.

I’ve been fighting my own battles here for 4 years. And even now, this battle continues quietly.

I am trying to change this place by creating beautiful things, getting to know myself, and

documenting myself. I find great pleasure in this labour. Aren’t we terrible romanticists? My dear

friend, I strongly insist – which is not something I usually do- that anything that makes a

difference should be creative and joyful. And I believe we are doing well.

The thoughts of my neighbours here in East Berlin are boring. As you know, because you visited

in 2018, Obersee (the lake) right in front of our house is beautiful. But my neighbours push me to

the virtues of a housewife. They care about my makeup, my clothes, my cooking, my husband’s

salary or the price of the house we bought. They don’t discuss topics I like, such as politics, art,

philosophy, topology, society, economy, geography, woodworking etc., with me. Or they just talk

about something serious and fun with themselves.

As you know, I like to talk and debate, so I was a lecturer at art Universities, and because of

that, I’ve made a lecture that’s very popular with students as well. But when I start voicing my

opinion, it creates a strange atmosphere. It’s frustrating. So I decided to move to Mitte. Because

I want to live in 2022 (hopefully). But my studio will still be here. You have to be at the forefront to

enjoy fighting.

If you come back to Berlin, please stop by my studio.

About the Author

Juheon Cho is a Korean contemporary painter and visual artist from Seoul, currently living and working in Berlin. She received dual bachelor’s degrees in Korean painting and Fine Art from Ewha Womans University and an MFA from Goldsmiths, University of London. Her practice spans drawing, traditional 진채화법 (deep colour painting), installation, and digital processes, exploring micro-histories, diaspora, gendered labor, and social melancholy. Since 2022, her ongoing project @project.dear.diary has generated over 260 drawings that evolve into “Mindscapes” where personal narratives and socio-political fragment into colours and textures. Cho has exhibited internationally in London, Seoul, Berlin, and Wrocław, foregrounding care, craftsmanship, and embodied process.

@cho.juheon.art

@project.dear.diary