Markings 14-I

Koo Kyung Sook’s monochromatic woodcut is a dense, gestural mélange of line and form that introduces a decided ambiguity to this unconventional self-portrait. Here, abstraction pushes representation to the edge of incomprehensibility. The features of Koo’s face and body are nearly obscured by a fluid thicket of layered marks of different size, shape, and value, leaving the viewer to decipher her transient physiognomy. This sense of a hidden identity is intentional, a reference to women’s “invisible” status in male-dominated societies, such as Koo’s native Korea.