Jenna Ko

Artist Statement:

As a child, I used to love water. I felt comfortable in the water as if I was in my mother's womb. Then, I had a traumatic experience and almost drowned . Since then, water has become a place of fear, wonder, and nostalgia . Through my work, I try to overcome my fear of water and dive into my life as an active participant. It is not merely hydrophobia but my passive attitude towards my life that I am challenging. I try to break out of the egg of fear and shyness to discover the beauty of life in nature, to form sincere relationships, and to achieve self actualization. I reach back to the little girl of my childhood, to the childlike perspective of sensitivity, sincerity, affection, amusement, and curiosity about the world. As we mature, we tend to lose connection with nature and gradually begin to view it as a resource to exploit or a threat to fear. Throughout my life, I have visited places with remarkable natural beauty. Sadly, each time I revisit them, I witness the failings of pollution and our exploitation of the nature world.

The work that I do seeks to challenge this notion of human dominance over nature and encourages people to regain their child-like appreciation for nature’s vitality. Discovering the beauty of life in nature and forming a sincere relationship with it is rare, and yet it is a means of achieving self-actualization. It is a means of becoming more accustomed to the natural world and understanding the effect humans have on the environment. It is hard for one to appreciate things that they don’t take the time to see. Thus, my works serve as a vehicle to open the eyes of my audience to their association with the natural world, articulating the sublime as a transient phenomenon that is challenging to define.

I believe being alive does not necessarily imply we are awakened to our surroundings or the world we inhabit. With new media, I step out of the daily cycle and expand my visions and boundaries. I take a walk to carefully observe the environment around me and often use the camera as an extension of myself to capture the footage of scenic beauties that we often pass by. The photographs, videos, and meditations from the walk are simplified into representative imagery which depicts the beauty of the world and my praise for it. It may involve light sources such as LEDs and projections, but it may not require luminous media. In the latter situation, other fabrications such as cardboards, fabrics, paints, crystals, or wood pieces are used to enhance the meaning of the lights. Through my work, I reach out to the viewers, welcoming the audience to immerse themselves in my works and interact with them, whether by folding an origami boat, speaking to a microphone, or simply appreciating them. I seek to heal our relationship with nature by restoring our respect for her as an extension of ourselves, while showing there is still hope.