A rigorous sense of order rules the drawings in New York–based artist Kyung-Me’s first solo exhibition at Bureau, on the Lower East Side. Mirrors, columns, curtains, room dividers, spotlights, and frieze-like elements form geometrical divisions in the symmetrical compositions, each nearly three feet tall by four feet wide. The scenes are set in two spaces meant to evoke otherworldly beauty: the okiya, where geishas sit or lie in silence, and the convent, where nuns in elaborate robes orient themselves toward unseen presences. Despite the show’s title, “Sister,” the women centered in most of the images appear isolated, tied to their elaborate environs more than other human figures. Viewers can get lost in the details, all rendered in cross-hatched pen lines and charcoal gradients on paper. But examination comes with the sense that one might discover something darker lurking in the shadows, or in the additional rooms just visible at the edges of some drawings. The Fall, a small piece at the start of the show, depicts a woman on the threshold of a forest of twisted trees, foreshadowing the religious and psychological tensions pulsing underneath Kyung-Me’s visions. Below, the artist discusses these tensions and the origins of an enigmatic body of work. —Mira Dayal

A few years ago I became very invested in Carl Jung’s theory about symbols. One fundamental idea is that every symbol holds the tension of opposites and that, through investigating our personal symbols, we can better understand the underlying tensions in our psyches. For “Sister,” I wanted to examine how the symbols I’ve returned to in my work—the woman, the mirror, and the labyrinth—correlate to tensions in my psyche and in larger societal structures.

I was also inspired by some iconic imagery, namely the symmetry and asymmetry in the image of the Crucifixion of Christ, in which Christ is placed in the center between the penitent and impenitent thieves, and the Virgin Mary and Mary Magdalene. Conceptually, I wanted to draw a line down the central vertical axis of this image and “fold” the image in half to compress the opposing archetypes (good thief, bad thief, virgin, whore). I wanted to create images imbued with the tension of these opposites that would feel open and enclosed, charged and vacuous, oppressive and liberated.

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