I have been in America about 6 years. In that time, I have learned to communicate with people who have different cultures. In order to fully understand my conversations with them, I need to pay attention to their facial expressions, body gestures, and voice tones. Even though my observation of the situation with people is good enough to overcome the language barrier, it is not enough to overcome the culture barrier. I have experienced isolation and loneliness being a foreigner in a different country and being a stranger in the different culture. Ironically, I get the same experiences whenever I go back to my own country, South Korea. The reason is the disconnection with my own culture by the gap of my existence in that particular place. Psychologically, I become only a fragment in each place.
I believe that the human body is a container that carries the history of life, and also is the witness of life. Our bodies absorb every step we take from time to time. It contains the authenticity of emotion that we have gained through life experiences. Also, our bodies are the initial mediation between our spirit and the physical world. In order to express my inner most feelings and the sense of my own significant individuality, I show the human form as a material entity using my own body as subject matter reflecting my experiences in society’s eyes.
Written by Minjung Kang
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