When the Deutsches Hygiene-Museum in Dresden, Germany, presented the "glass man" in 1930, people were stunned: They could take a deep insight into the anatomy of man which was hidden before by skin and flesh. The complex nervous system, blood vessels, internal organs and bones made neatly visible also revealed the vulnerability of the body in striking way. Shown all over the world, the "glass man" later became a metaphor for the dilemma of mass surveillance and the protection of privacy. Recently, Jellyfish Pictures presented computer based images showing crucial moments, for example a fetus with the umbilical cord entwined around the neck. These pictures x-raying the body are still shocking for they expose intimate and secret processes to the public. We feel like breaching into a forbidden area.

Sunah Yun's drawings and paintings provoke similar emotions: Her protagonists are more than naked; they are stripped to the bone. Once the skin is torn away, we can see the filaments and nerves. Alone and definitely in a suicidal mood, the fragile figures show self-destructive behavior.

Sunah Yun has closely examined this state of hopeless and acute danger for life. For her it is obvious: Bodies are not only physical containers for complex anatomical systems, but also containers for the self, with all conflicts and problems. The entangled biological nervous system turns into a symbol for neurological and psychic states of mind.

Conflict is constant. In these series the conflict with oneself, the inner turmoil is brought out into open. Tangled and weaved lines represents the inner strengths and weaknesses spilling out melting with the flesh. The energy and intensity echo the gesture the figures are portraying. It's an individual experience therefore; each figure is always in its own personal space. They are self-contained. Most often devoid of any context, they reveal a psychic state.

The gestures arising from the inner conflicts are self-inflicted pain and self-destructive behavior. Other forms are self-doubt, self-censorship, self-deprecation, self-recrimination etc. Even self-mutilation and suicidal tendencies, though extreme, are variances. Also self-restraint and self-control, both negative and positive attributes are part of that equation. (Sunah Yun)

What a painful experience to see someone so vulnerable! Why can we not interfere and save them? But in some special psychic states, helping is nearly impossible. How hard to bear! We are paralyzed and must recognize: We can not escape from our body…

SUNAH YUN received her Bachelor of Fine Art Degree in Painting from the University of Illinois in Chicago, Illinois, in 1987, and her Master of Fine Art Degree in Painting from the School of The Art Institute of Chicago in 1995. Since 1992 she had several group and solo exhibition in Illinois and Wisconsin. In 2002 she was awarded with the Northern National Art Competition (Donor Award), Rhinelander, Wisconsin. She presently is teaching drawing and painting at the Columbia College, Chicago.

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