Se-won Shin is a Trans-Artist. He was the young, innovative leader of a Korean religious foundation who retired to introduce a new way of art called Trans-Art, expressing 'Spiritual Transcendence' based on his own experience. The Trans-Artist expressed Enlightenment and Awakening which is beyond form by using various forms of Trans-Art. His art revolutionized the Hanol religious foundation. Sewon Shin is the founder of Korean Trans Artist team.
"Art of Singularity" Trans-Art is Art that transcends the conventional form of art in order to express and experience our True Nature beyond form. In Trans-Art part 1 [Optical Awakening] multi-dimensional artworks, he integrated 'Spiritual meditation with Art' In Trans-Art part 2 [Tasting-Art] Taste of Awakening, he integrated 'Taste with Art'. In Trans-Art part 3 [Mobile Art] Collective Awakening, he combines 'Technology with Art'. Trans-Art provided a basis for the 1st and 2nd reformation of the Korean traditional religion Hanol-gyo, and became a driving force behind the ‘Hanol Spiritual and Cultural movement of Art’- the religious movement without religious obligation, by integrating Art and Spirituality.
The Hanol Spiritual and Cultural Movement of Art is a new way of experiencing religion without religious obligation by integrating Art and Spirituality. By using Tran-Art [Optical Awakening], as teaching material and as a learning device of Hanol Spiritual Art, Hanol-gyo (Korean Traditional religion) is presenting a new possibility for religious evolution by expanding the religious boundaries in a wider perspective. Optical Awakening is a direct expression of enlightenment and a catalyst for awakening in Art form, in which people can experience the quintessence of religion simply by appreciating the artworks, rather than participating in a conventional form of religious activity or becoming a spiritual seeker. It can be considered as a revolutionary approach to the religious innovation and spiritual evolution by integrating Art and Spirituality in the face of a Spiritual Singularity.
Completing the unfinished masterpiece by Auguste Rodin. "The Gates", the signature artwork of Optical Awakening, is inspired by la Porte de I'Enfer -The Gates of Hell, by Rodin. The Artist reinterpreted The Gates of Hell and re-established it as the 'Gates of Heaven(Nirvana)' by using a mirror that symbolizes the reflection of the perceiver's inner state. While The Gates of Hell symbolizes the beginning of indefinite suffering from one side, it could also symbolize the end of suffering from the other side if one could extricate oneself from hell through the gates. He reconciles the common definition of Hell (The beginning of endless suffering) with the Buddhist terminology of Nirvana (The end of Suffering). Through The Gates, the artist shows that Heaven and Hell may not refer to a certain location, but to the perceiver’s inner state of consciousness, and it is a true gift of free will to choose one's own inner state freely.
