In an era where body images function as capital, everyone is displayed in the media and lives a life without substance. Images that are more real than reality replace the original, and the memory of the original disappears. Now, people wear clothes to become something other than what they are. They tailor and plan their own bodies to fit social standards, depending on the desires of others. Trapped in the media of narcissism, we are no different from dolls surrounded by mirrors.
When there is discomfort between the inner self-consciousness and the unconscious desire, the self-consciousness becomes aware of the body on display. This is a secret aspect of the mind that is not easily revealed. This small movement to detect dissonance and restore identity and meaning has preserved our humanity so far. So we only need a small attempt to recall the reality beyond the image and remember reality.
A single stitch would be a sensation that appears and disappears momentarily. The original method that has been passed down for a long time contains memories of reality. Therefore, this process is not simplified. This is because there is meaning in the inner part that follows the process. The stitch that flashes momentarily creates a sensation. The maker imprints the sensation on his body and continuously faces reality. The sensation left at the fingertips is a line that guides the next sensation. Without complex intention or decoration. Sensation follows sensation.
The nature of sewing is to function, not to show. If sewing is symbolized as something to be seen, the essential value of clothes is damaged. Symbols are the appearance of clothes, and function is the meaning inside. Symbols only imitate function, not reality. It is pretending to have something that does not exist. On the contrary, function has meaning, but tries to hide that meaning. The former belongs to <nothingness>, and the latter belongs to <being>. Making clothes by hand is a repetition of the process of confirming <being>.
After a hundred hours or so, it becomes a form. It is a state where the contaminated wills are removed, the so-called original. The original cannot be made intentionally. It exists as time has refined and left behind. The external things disappear with time, and all forms return to their own appearances. It is the form that must exist as itself, that is, the end point of the form. The sewing that endures time is only a path to reach the end point of the form and a material that reminds us of that memory, not a goal that must be achieved in itself.
Clothes are imitations of our existence. They are replicas of our bodies that are closest to our own forms, and objects that remind us of our reality. However, we are no different in that we find our own forms over time. In order not to get lost and to exist, we must sense and remember <being>. This physical sense is an anchor of the mind that holds humanity, which is on the verge of dispersing, to reality. We return here again and find clues for recovery.
Text ｜ Lerici
picture ｜ Heo Myeong-wook
