Spotlight Artist

So Yoon Lym

Northeast
Artist profile photo
Featured in New American Paintings

Artist Statement

The Dreamtime is inspired by aboriginal stories and creation visions. Each braided pattern, worn by students, is a map of the ancient universe, a topographical palimpsest of the world in pattern: valleys, mountains, forests, oceans, rivers, streams. The painter and the hair braider lay down their marks like their predecessor creator beings, carving and inscribing; they create and are in turn created by their labor. These braid patterns are the language for the new aboriginal, the transplanted and de-territorialized nomad.

The braid patterns both record journeys to the present and represent cartographical longings; they are a stamp of entry into a brave new world order, while simultaneously remembering prehistory. In the age of GPS cell phones tracking movement and satellite surveillance with biometric scanning recognition, the modern-day aboriginal wears his location like an imagetext on his head. Dreamtime is present-time for hair braiders and aboriginal students. They are the weavers of patterns, who recover the mythical past of the natural world and its creation through the transmission of age-old signs and images.

Artist's Additional works

Works shared by the artist outside of their featured New American Paintings selections

Featured artwork
Featured artwork

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