"Since living in Seoul, I have developed my interest in the concept of the ‘in-between.’ It is the entry space where the most fascinating things happen, and I hope my work recalls this ‘in-between’ space."

 -Simon Morley

 

Gallery JJ is pleased to present its inaugural exhibition at its new Gangnam location, showcasing the work of British artist Simon Morley. Educated in fine art and modern history in the UK, Morley has been residing in Korea since his residency at the Gyeonggi Creation Center in 2010. While teaching at Dankook University, he has continued to cultivate his artistic practice. His paintings, predominantly monochromatic, blur the boundaries of text and image, evoking ambiguity and uncertainty through their nuanced, textured surfaces. Through these works, Morley explores the liminal spaces where oppositions meet: looking and reading, text and image, East and West, past and present, yin and yang.

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'사이'의 회화_in between

Often considered a conceptual artist, the more one engages with Morley’s paintings, the more layers of meaning emerge, inviting deeper contemplation. The core of his work is text. "Word is Image," Morley asserts, emphasizing that text possesses not only meaning but also form. Though rendered in a restrained monochromatic palette, his images and texts gradually reveal themselves upon closer inspection. Their relationship is oxymoronic, intertwining looking and reading in ways that cross-reference and disorient the viewer—a deliberate intention of the artist. His monochrome works become more perceptible as the process of decoding the standardized codes and information on their surfaces unfolds. Additionally, the text, painted in relief, casts shadows that evoke a tactile response.

His paintings blend the conceptual precision of text with the fantastical qualities of imagery. Morley preserves the original typefaces and layouts of his sources, maintaining an objective and factual stance. As a result, his paintings become agents through which text serves as both representation and comprehension. Morley’s exploration of cultural intersections and media transformations permeates much of his work. For example, his "book paintings" transform the medium of the book into painting. More recently, he has ventured into video and signboard-based works, extending his practice into varied forms.

The theme of this exhibition is "Korea." After leaving the UK, this new cultural landscape profoundly inspired Morley, whose interests in history and culture informed his work. His themes span from traditional motifs to contemporary reflections. His series "Korean White," part of the book painting series, originated from his fascination with Korea’s cultural identity. Drawing from Martin Uden’s collection—books authored by Westerners during the late 19th and early 20th centuries—he transformed their covers into paintings, using nuanced shades of white to evoke Korea’s essence.

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Furthermore, Morley was captivated by the poetic beauty of Joseon dynasty pavilions, as described in a book about the artist Kyumje Jeong Seon. This inspiration led to his Pavilion series. His fascination with language resurfaced in his use of pavilion names, such as Dok Rak Jung (獨樂亭), Eng Chung Gak (凝淸閣), and Pal Young Roo (八詠樓). Translating these Chinese character names into the English alphabet highlights the gap between visuality and language. These symbols, laden with meaning, evoke both memory and the in-between reality of cultural, linguistic, temporal, and spatial gaps. As postmodern philosopher Jacques Derrida suggests, symbols are inherently unable to represent their referents entirely, reinforcing the instability of representation.

There exist aspects of experience that elude both visuality and language, occupying the in-between space where countless differences arise. These elements touch us in mysterious and noble forms. The pavilions Morley chose no longer exist today, but through his work, memories of their lost presence are reconstructed. By rendering them in a new language, form, and color, he transforms the familiar into something strange.

A signboard from the Seoul History Museum, marking the division of Korea during the 1945 armistice, appears in one of his works with blurred depth, evoking a void that bridges time and space. Similarly, his depiction of Mt. Geumgang reveals the ghostly image of a train that once crossed the peninsula—a journey impossible in the present. Living in Munsan, near the DMZ, Morley’s work reflects his acute awareness of the historical realities that shape his environment.

In his studio, a reproduction of Jeong Seon’s Geumgang Mountains hangs beside a Rothko poster, embodying the dualities that define Morley’s practice. Influenced by Korean one-stroke techniques, which emphasize both spontaneity and completeness, Morley situates his "in-between" ethos at the confluence of the rational West and the spiritual East. His work offers a profound exploration of identity, culture, and the elusive essence of existence.

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Julie Kang | GalleryJJ Director

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