From One Stroke a Day
In 2019, I developed De Quervain's Tenosynovitis in both wrists, a condition that caused severe pain and forced me to stop painting for over three years. The inability to create was devastating, leaving me in a prolonged state of frustration and helplessness. Out of this struggle, I conceived the project From One Stroke a Day.
The idea was simple: each month had a designated number of strokes. In January, I added one stroke per day, resulting in 31 strokes for the month. In February, I increased it to two strokes per day, in March, three strokes, and so on, continuing this pattern until December.
By making strokes daily, I created a collection of drawings that took the form of an archival work, documenting a year's worth of time-based creation. To record the process, I uploaded each day's work to my Instagram account, ahseomchi.
This project became my way of confronting adversity. Rather than letting pain dictate my limitations, I sought a method of working within them. Though I could no longer paint with the same intensity as before, I could still make one stroke a day—small, deliberate acts of persistence that accumulated over time. The gradual progression of marks mirrored my journey of resilience, transforming an overwhelming sense of restriction into a practice of patience and adaptation. In doing so, From One Stroke a Day was not just an artistic process, but a testament to endurance, proving that creativity can persist even in the face of physical constraints.
By clicking any image below, you can visit the Instagram page.
