LAST YEAR OCTOBER, lim jaebeom (more widely known as JB), leader of boy group GOT7, announced that he would be launching his first ever exhibition in seoul called ‘ALONE’ — under his pseudonym DEF. — from october 6 to october 12. JB gave a brief description of the concept he was exploring, why he decided to explore such a concept, and why he chose that title:
his explanation may seem strange at first: why would he ‘incorporate sadness and loneliness’ into his pieces if the ultimate goal of his exhibition was to ‘bring inspiration and consolation’ to the audience? i think what he was trying to convey is an idea deep rooted in existentialist philosophy: recognising and coming to terms with how lonely the human condition is.
from the pictures i’ve managed to get of the exhibition, i’ve seen the photos deliver the concept very well. they are, true to their name, lonely, some pictures convey the feeling of sadness and loneliness more strongly than others (for example, the ones that feature solitary people and empty houses) while some scenes are more calm and consoling. JB said he took these photos ‘feeling lonely but through a happy lens’ — what did he mean?
loneliness is a key part of human existence; you can never escape it. you encounter it everywhere, no matter what point you are at in life. it’s part of who you are. and it goes beyond the physical feeling of loneliness, of feeling like you have no one to depend on.
our experiences and our environment are what separates us from each other and what makes us individual. we all perceive the world in a completely different way to each other, and this is what makes communication so hard for us. existentialist philosopher wittgenstein captured this best: he said that the way we communicate with each other goes beyond speaking the same language, and depends on the images we’re able to create in other’s heads. but the issue is too often a time the image formed is a very different image we have in our own heads, and people can interpret what we say in all sorts of ways. this is why miscommunication happens so much. this is why we’ll never be able to be understood: we, and everyone else around us, are far too complex to be pinpointed accurately. this is why we’re fated to be alone.
and this may seem like a bleak revelation, but it doesn’t have to be.
accepting this and choosing to embrace it allows us to see how important we are. we can appreciate ourselves in all our complexities and uniqueness and appreciate how rare and beautiful we are, how serendipitous we are. we can see our lonely selves through a ‘happy lens’.
there’s a quote i’m very fond of: ‘the history of art is the record of people who couldn’t find anyone to talk to, and we can take up their coded offer of intimacy’.
make art with your loneliness. fill a canvas with your pain, the paint bleeding with emotions of the hurt and loss you’ve endured. take pictures of starry skies and be reminded of that summer’s night you spilled all your secrets to somebody you used to know. write poetry, let the sea of words in your head rush from your pen to your page until it’s overflowing with words, as if a dam had been broken in your mind. make art with your loneliness in the hopes someone will decipher it.
JB did so. he captured his loneliness and put it on display for everyone to see. for everyone to understand. he wanted to offer you inspiration and consolation too. maybe he wanted to let you know that he understands you, somewhat, and encourages you to showcase your loneliness too.
