Him
30” x 40” x 10”
500 hand bent brass military dogtags, each inscribed, “The Unknown Soldier” with a small patch of korean hanbok material over a male bust.
Her
30” x 40” x 10”
800 hand-sealed fabric petals made from the fabrics of Korean traditional hanbok dresses and U.S. military uniforms over female bust in a “chameleon” like fashion. A commentary on the many korean men who marry American soldiers and take on their culture and patriotism for a country that isn’t their homeland.
United, 2020
United, 24” x 32”
Sewn Korean Hanbok and U.S.A fabric
My mother left her beautiful home country of Korea and became a citizen of the United States of America, where she raised two daughters in the world of the military, where patriotism and nationalism run deep, which can be tough on someone who comes from a different nation and culture. But she raised us as best she could, balancing a new world while trying to preserve her own culture in her children. This piece is dedicated to her – where the red and white stripes are substituted with the fabrics of traditional Korean Hanbok dresses and the Pledge of Allegiance is phonetically sounded out in Korean characters. When I look at this piece, it makes me think about what it means to be an American for so many like my mom, and ultimately most Americans today. You don’t have to go back too far to find that you probably come from a people who left where they came from in order to make a better life. Maybe that connects and unites us more than we know. And maybe it can inspire us to embrace those who come next as we pave the way for a more inclusive America.
Dichotomy, 2019
My sister as inspiration, I carved a plaster bust seeking to capture her likeness. From there, I cast molds in plaster, resin, and concrete to create a series that explores our heritage and all of the struggles, beauty, and fractures that accompany being a bi-cultural POC.
Blended Blossoms - 2019
Since the Korean War, Korean women and U.S. soldiers have found their way into each other’s lives, both beautifully and controversially. The interweaving of two different cultures is something I have experienced firsthand and yet am still captivated by. This exploration of two very different worlds becoming one in all of their beauty, awkwardness, and intrigue is what brought about these blended blossoms. In this series, wo different cultures overlap into a new, natural form. Inspired by inter-racial marriages and families, this latest work studies the relationship of blended materials through the implementation of origami inspired techniques using Korean Traditional “Han Bok” dress and U.S. Military uniforms.