Life Seeps Through Frosted Glass

02 Oct 2020

Keywords: Art; Columns; Design

Clear air, born from the trees, the land. White steam that murmurs from a kitchen. Plants that sprout from the earth, and flowers floating in a vase. The pigments in the sky at sunset, primary colors in an LCD TV.
Human lives and nature are tethered at the window, where a multitude of colors merge and mingle. From Korea, Japan, India, Thailand, and one realm of the imagination–––––these are multicolored stories about windows written and painted by Korean watercolor artist Byun Young Geun.

Since I came to Tokyo, I’ve started taking frequent walks. Looking around at the high-rises and houses is something I’m really enjoying as I stroll. All the different shaped buildings and their many windows. You get all kinds of windows in Tokyo, from the absolutely tiny to the great big ones. And I’ve also noticed that a lot of them use curtains or frosted glass to stop people looking in, for privacy, I guess. The lives of Tokyo seep through, semi-transparent. The everyday beyond the window left to swell in your imagination.

Byun Young Geun

Korean watercolor artist, illustrator, and graphic novelist. Currently based in Tokyo, Young Geun continues to produce illustrations for numerous publications, including book and CD cover art. Every year since 2013, Young Geun has released a graphic novel within which his unique perspective captures the existence of our everyday, enveloped by the cities and natural world around us. Utilising the techniques of a graphic novel, these stories develop without a single word, using only illustration.

Illustration & Text : Byun Young Geun Japanese to English translation : James Cooper Editing : Marie Sasago

Keywords: Art; Columns; Design

WINDOW RESEARCH INSTITUTE

Life Seeps Through Frosted Glass

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