Threads of Love
Nail, thread, letter from the audience, and acrylic on wood
223.5 x 160 cm (87.9 x 62.9 in)
2023
︎ Audience Interaction Link

Threads of Love is an installation piece inspired by the well-known saying in Asian culture that “loving fates are tied with a red string on their finger.” According to research, the story has been passed down mouth-to-mouth for over a thousand years, rooted in China. A total of one thousand two hundred ten nails were used, symbolizing the past years, and they were nailed to panels painted in varying tones of red. This expression signifies how relationships, while sharing commonalities, also exhibit unique qualities for each individual. Audience members were invited to write messages to their loved ones and tie them around the strings, which is directed to fill the distance between each panel with loving messages from the viewers.

Gimjang
Dyed salt, jangdokdae (Korean earthenware), and letter from “Threads of Love”
53.3 x 44.4 cm (21 x 17.5 in)
2023
︎ Performance Link

Gimjang is an installation series developed from Threads of Love. Gimjang is a Korean term that refers to the process of making kimchi for the winter. In the past, our ancestors aimed to create nutritious, preserved food to sustain them during the winter when harvesting was not possible.  Similar to the purpose of gimjang, I sought to preserve heartfelt letters collected from Threads of Love. Similar to the kimchi-making process, I used jangdokdae, the traditional earthenware used for fermented food, put letters in each jangdokdae covered with different red tones of dyed salt, and put a handful of salt on top of it, wishing everyone’s mind would last for a long time.

Universe
Wool and acrylic on paster
190.5 x 152.4 x 132 cm (75 x 60 x 52 in)
2023

Universe is an installation piece created from the book, Love Asks, and Humanity Replies by Jung Ji Woo. The author claims that love is a continuous movement that draws lines into each other’s lives, forming an endless universe and a creation of the world.” Expanding upon his words, I repeatedly poked countless threads of wool, representing the motion of interweaving and embodying the creation of colorful stars in the universe by painting. To envision the soaring creation of a universe, I built a plaster sculpture covered with reiterated mark-making, emphasizing the expansion of time. The artwork invites the audience to throw plaster pieces into the installation, similar to the motion of tossing a coin into a fountain and making wishes for their lovers.

Erotikos Logos
Dyed gauze and yarn-covered wire on installation
152.4 x 43.1 x 93.9 cm (60 x 17 x 37 in)

Erotikos Logos is an installation piece heavily influenced by The Symposium written by Plato, which depicts the ideal love Socrates and Diotima sought in their conversation. They insist that the core of human love is goodness, which brings happiness and meaning into life, making relationships seek a more profound intellectual love. Conceptualizing their perspective, I covered each mannequin with a contrasting tone of dyed gauze for the texture, layered colorful threads on top of it, and connected their heads with yarn-covered wire to visualize the beautiful moment of intellectual resonance developed through the process of love.






Zinnia
Oil on canvas
78.7 x 100 cm (31 x 39 in)
2023

Zinnia is an oil painting from the series Love in the Flower Language, which expresses affection in the flower language through various color combinations. Emphasizing zinnia’s symbol, which are affection, frendship, and everlasting love, tone on tone combination was used to create a harmony of bright and vivid hues. A flower garden became the motive of the work, delivering the idea of how different colors of flowers create a resonance as a group.






Magnolia
Oil on canvas
78.7 x 100 cm (31 x 39 in)
2023

Magnolia is a painting piece from the series Love in the Flower Language, connecting different types of flower languages to the meaning of love. As magnolia represents pureness, I interpreted pure love as an unconditional love and the bond of family. Three magnolia flowers in the painting represent my family, and the use of the tone-in-tone combination of pastel colors expresses the softness of pure love. The overlaying brushstrokes and faintly painted magnolia symbolize formless, varying, and malleable love of magnolia.






Hazy Farewell 2
Oil on canvas
(39 x 38 in)
2022

The most silent manifestation of trust is found in the moment of parting. During this moment, one acknowledges the absence or presence of the next reunion. To capture this quiet moment of trust and affection, I carried my camera during gatherings with friends and captured the immediate moments after our goodbyes. From the back of the friends leaving, promising to meet the subsequent unknown reunion, I felt a strong solidarity. Elaborating on the strongest moment of a relationship, I repeated drawing lines, waited for it to dry, and reiterated the process to create a hazy vision of my friends walking away.






Hazy Farewell 1
Oil and nail on canvas
39 x 39 in
2022







Hello?
Photo installation and acrylic on wood table
99.8 x 299.9 x 73.6 cm (39.3 x 118.1 x 29 in)

Hello? is an installation piece composed of a photographic documentation of the sky, capturing the moment I called my friends and family in the distance. Living on the opposite side of the earth, I often called them at dawn, gazing at the sky. I realized the sky is endlessly connected and expressed the love where our hearts go beyond physical distance by documenting my vision of sky through photos. I attached the photographs beneath the table, painted in sky blue, and placed two cups connected with a wire to resemble a paper cup phone. The audience is encouraged to experience the work by lying down, mirroring the action of star-gazing at dawn.