Heehyun Jeong

30 Apr

In October 2022 resident Heehyun Jeong shared a letter and list of recommendations for things to do and listen to when in Longyearbyen.

Dear Svalbard residents (for a long term or for a short term),

I am a South Korean artist who studied in Germany with a Norwegian professor. He led me to QSPA (thanks Olav!), and QSPA led me to Artica (thanks QSPA!). I didn't know about Svalbard, my knowledge of the island was about at this level: There are many polar bears and a printing workshop where I will work for one month.

I arrived in Svalbard in early October. I came from Berlin, from my studio, from seven exhibitions and two projects that are running with me, from my one-year marriage, from the day to day life in the city. At first glance, there was a landscape. A mighty landscape that exists in its own way. That was completely unknown to me. I drew outside for two weeks to actually be there. Unfortunately, I need pictures and physical action to understand something and to perceive something more precisely. Sounds strange, but unfortunately I'm such a person.

It was cold. The weather, the wind, the sun and the length of the day have never been more important in my life. Once a picture I was working on flew into the sea, which I had drawn for two hours. Once I encountered a giant reindeer on the road and was scared to survive (I didn't know at that time that they were harmless). I was always slightly ill, constantly tired and had nosebleeds everyday. But I couldn't stop, the landscape was just too beautiful, as a painter I could hardly bear not to document it.

The mighty beautiful landscape did not accept me, it was not for human beings as living beings. I wasn't there for sure, but nevertheless, thanks to all the efforts of previous and current fellow human beings there. I was more or less forced by the landscape not only to exist as a sophisticated and ungrateful city dweller, but to exist as a delicate creature in hard surroundings. I was grateful I was allowed to experience this landscape. That was touching.

I tried to show my enthusiasm with copper plates. I hope it worked or still works. If you're curious about this little first result, I left two prints of mine at Artica, maybe you can see them when you're there.

I left Longyearbyen on the 4th of November after staying there for a month. Now I'm back in Berlin. Now I'm writing this text on my table near the balcony, where through the window my rosemary plant and the last cucumber of this year, behind them large trees with yellow leaves are visible. I’m definitely not in Svalbard anymore, I'm noticing with irritation. Tomorrow I'm going to an event that I'm participating in and next week I'll set up an exhibition, put up new canvases, go shopping, meet friends and colleagues, discuss politics again, will hate someone again because they're stupid and selfish... and so on. And if it gets too much for me again, I will also think of the eternal fjords in Svalbard, which I got to know a little bit of one month, the lines of which have now become a small part of my hand movement, the beautiful loneliness there.

I really hope you have a beautiful time there too.

Greetings from Berlin,
Heehyun