길 우 정 吉 祐 廷
Woo Jung Ghil

Biography

Woo Jung Ghil (b. Seoul, 1992) lives and works in London.

She started her BA at Camberwell College of Art and graduated from Cambridge School of Visual & Performing Arts '20 and gained her MA in Painting at The Royal College of Art, London '23.

Statement

Jeongjeok (정적) is a state of internal tranquility— a rejection or absence of external sounds and the embrace of a silence that resonates from within our souls. In my paintings, I portray what I believe is the ideal state of mind, one that does not waver despite the ever-changing nature of the external world. 

Growing up in different countries, I was exposed to a variety of cultural values, each with its own unique customs and beliefs. At the heart of this cultural tapestry, I sought to uncover my own subjectivity— to untangle the threads of influence and discover what truly resonates with my core values. With this process of self-discovery, I longed for a state of tranquility— jeongjeok— where I can focus on the things that mattered to me most.

Aesthetics of my works are often inspired by the mountains and water. I am captivated by the unwavering allure of nature’s calm and the enduring spirit that lies within. Mountains witness the changing of the four seasons, yet remain resolute and everlasting, while water unyieldingly and modestly flows down its destined course. In nature, I found an internal and innate silence— this timeless aesthetic of jeongjeok.

Blending meticulous layers of oil paint, applying texture, and adding color have all become a meditative process—an intimate dialogue between my art and myself. Sinuous lines serve as focal points that reflect the delicate balance and discipline required to maintain the silence I strive to reach. My works are a window into the realm of jeongjeok— a sanctuary where time slows down, where the external distractions fade, and where my soul rests.  

 " Woo Jung Ghil (b.1992, Seoul) echoes Kandinsky’s geometrical elements and theory on colours and harmony; she takes this offering a step further as her work explores the negotiation between the sound, human bodies, and the universal truth, a space that the artist describes as ’jeongjeok’ - “a sanctuary where time slows down, where the external distractions fade, and where my soul rests”, claimed by Ghil. For both Kandinsky and Ghil, harmony is communicated through colours where “... colour is a means of exerting a direct influence upon the soul. Colour is the keyboard. The eye is the hammer. The soul is the piano with its many strings. The artist is the hand that purposely sets the soul vibrating by means of this or that key” - declared by (Wassily Kandinsky). 

Rather than a representation, Ghil’s work is more of an inner screening, an embodied experience of the self and its intra-relationship with the universe. Her depiction of silence is not a moment; it is a process, a journey, a metaphysical experience, “although my paintings may appear silent, they embody profound ideas and emotions that transcend the physical, creating a space where the underlying concepts and narratives come to life”. 

Ghil’s practice is deeply embedded in the practice of tracking silence, in Morgan Meyer’s words something “that is rare and slippery, almost impossible to grasp, and that can vanish instantly”, as Ghil says “the creation process mirrors the fluctuations between moments of ideal silence and harmony, akin to the ‘Jeongjeok’ state, and instances of turmoil and discord within the soul”. For Ghil, silence is produced in labouring and in negotiations where one is the observer, the participant, and the creator. In the self-portrait series, the large scale, open structure, and thin layers of colour combine to convey the impression of pictorial space, a space co-produced by the artist’s experiences, the paint, and the canvas, a space of a dream in a dream. "   — L,Zhang