Jihoon Chai

“CWLGS” is a longtime nickname, formed by rearranging the letters of my Korean name, Jihoon Chai. I have dedicated most of my life to studying and creating art, living between Seoul and Berlin. Through my work, I try to capture the visual, literary, and philosophical impressions that move me, as a way of expressing my quiet reverence for art.

Most of my works are expressed through a format that combines a foundation of realist drawing with a central narrative, accentuated by red focal points. The aesthetic message I seek to convey in my creations revolves around the confinement of the human body, the fleeting nature of life, and a skeptical worldview. Yet, despite these, I strive to depict, in its raw form, the beauty—both inevitable and cruel—that the world bestows upon us, rendering it in a way that is palatable to the eye. 

 “Is the life of humans, having evolved far beyond other creatures to possess a greater depth of emotions and pleasure, truly free? How much freedom does the world afford to its creations? What is the true form of humanity when stripped of the veneer of moral right and wrong, revealing the core of our essence? What, then, is religion? Why, despite the same truth existing for all, do so many instinctively seek only the beautiful and the bright, rejecting and even covering up the ugly realities? Does deceiving oneself in this manner lead to greater happiness? How does the world appear to one standing at the boundary between life and death? Is self-awareness, unique to living beings, a blessing or a curse?” Unlike other creatures, humanity, gifted with higher reasoning, has posed endless questions about its own existence, yet the world remains indifferent, offering no answers. Even with the aid of science, the exploration of the origins of life has been ongoing for centuries, but we do not even know how far we have come. All we can vaguely sense, from the grand order of nature, is that the journey, which spans all of human history, has yielded progress no greater than a single page's worth on the vast road ahead. 

 I am neither intelligent nor particularly gifted, except for the small ability to wield a pen and draw slightly better than others. And even then, when I witness others producing far more magnificent works of art with such ease, I find myself feeling utterly insignificant. Yet, I am at peace with that. As I mentioned before, merely by being human, we stand far superior to other species, though when we turn our gaze inward, comparing ourselves to others, we fall into a paradox of being both inferior and superior to one another. Everything is, after all, deeply relative. In this world, some may be suffering the excruciating pain of their limbs burning at this very moment, while for me, it’s the toe I just stubbed against the door that feels like the greatest pain imaginable. In the grand scheme, comparisons of degrees of suffering become meaningless. So, I will walk my own path. I will capture, in my works, the fleeting truths I encounter. Some may find my art unpleasant or even childish, but I am merely one small being, a speck of dust. And yet, to me, my consciousness—my self—is everything, and more than that, it is what brings me closest to the abstract notion of the divine. I would be grateful if you could view and understand my desperate attempt to feel and interpret the world I was born into as the humble process of one human being trying to make sense of it all.