Who has the Power: Scratch Off 

Acrylic, Printmaking, and Mixed Media on Papers

21 x 19 inches

2021

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People buy scratch-off tickets because they expect good fortune. Before people scratch one, they never know what their fortune is. The interesting point is that the result of scratch-off is predetermined no matter what people expect as their fortune. When viewers scratch off this artwork, they would face the uncomfortable and direct question of “Who has the Power” hidden under the thin silver color. Through the question, the viewers are asked to contemplate who “really” has the power. The question is already answered by the Constitution of the Republic of Korea (in Korean): 

 

CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA, CHAPTER I GENERAL PROVISIONS, Article 1

(1) The Republic of Korea shall be a democratic republic.

(2) The sovereignty of the Republic of Korea shall reside in the people, and all state authority shall emanate from the people.

 

It sounds like the obvious answer. But it might depend on the expectation of the person who scratches off.