My ceramic sculptures are about my story as well as the stories of all of us. Through these children that were born from clay, I find myself remembering and returning to the long journey that I have been walking all along. Memories are often the inspiration for my work, whether they are good or bad. In Korean, we call this [Special characters omitted]. I preserve these memories by carving into the surface of the clay, revealing a tattoo-like effect. I tried to make my own tattoos through my artwork because tattoos have a story and stay forever. My thesis speaks of my journey and my connection with family, home, and culture. It also addresses my disconnection and desire to reacquaint myself with the things that I have lost, such as assurance of my identity as well as the people who have passed away. My artwork speaks of the difficulty of living in a foreign culture and staying connected with my past. The stories that narrate my journey deal with loss, change, love, and dreams, some realized and some unrealized. I combine two-dimensional drawing and printmaking techniques on a three-dimensional black space, in the form of a ceramic body. I carve my stories onto these symbolic vessels, which take their inspiration from Korean pottery. I have taken a traditional Korean shape which is the curve. Many aspects of Korean culture including the architecture, the art, and even the clothing contain this unique feature. I have taken this concept and contemporized it to represent an all-embracing human figure. Each sculpture speaks and relates to the others by the similarities in their form, images, and meanings. In addition to the works themselves, I also use mechanical devices to create motion in the sculptures that completes and further emphasizes the meanings of the artwork. This takes the form of changing lights, projected images, and movement of the sculptures in order to create contrast with the immobility of the actual figures. The motion helps to represent time, change, or a feeling of vitality. Also, the art pieces stand on their own pedestals in their own space. In my thesis, I am experimenting with how multiple pieces can combine to form one body of work, one journey.
Ceramics, Clay, Identity, Korea, Mississippi, Sgraffito, Fine Arts
Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations