?As I look at Ik Lae?s paintings, I am always captured by a sense of timelessness; for a fleeting moment I am transported to a place where things are not bound by dimension, not limited by rules. The eyes haunt me, yet I am moved as they seem to search within my soul, asking questions I have not had the courage to answer. I have known Ik Lae for over ten years, a long time for some yet not enough for friends. Wanting to know at least in part where he drew his inspiration from, his answer was simple: from the world around him. He told me his desire was to capture his lament over what he saw as a world deteriorating, a world where a façade is the norm, a world where consumerism is encouraged, and charity dampened. The eyes reflect what we see, what he sees, what the world should see. But with his use of bold, bright, dramatic colours the one message is clear: all is not lost; there is hope to be found.?
- Di Wu October 2007
