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| "Descending Sunrise ― Mesmerizing Mesh #11" (2021) by Yang Hae-gue / Courtesy of the artist and Kukje Gallery |
By Park Han-sol
Sacred Paper Cutting is a tradition that forms a significant part of "gut," or Korean shamanistic rituals, performed in regions including Taean County of South Chungcheong Province and parts of Jeju Island.
It involves folding the paper multiple times and cutting out particular patterns to create different shamanistic objects, which are then used to decorate the ritual site in order to drive out evil spirits or commemorate the deceased.
Inspired by this practice, artist Yang Hae-gue recently unveiled her latest hanji (traditional Korean paper made from the bark of paper mulberry trees) collage series, "Mesmerizing Mesh," at Kukje Gallery in Jongno District, Seoul.
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| A site of sitting gut, or shamanistic ritual, decorated with Sacred Paper Cutting in Taean County, South Chungcheong Province / Courtesy of Korea Cultural Heritage Foundation |
A glimpse of her paper artwork was offered last year at her solo exhibition, "Haegue Yang ― O2 & H2O" held at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA), Seoul. One of the showcased pieces was her talisman, "Five Doing Un-Doing," which consisted of five banners representing the elements of water, wood, fire, earth and metal ― each with the bottom edge embellished with objects made from Sacred Paper Cutting.
"Mesmerizing Mesh" is a continuation of this methodology, coupled with the artist's extensive research as well as consultation with shamans and scholars devoted to shamanistic studies across the nation.
The hanji series can be divided into two groups: pieces that feature abstract patterns designed to drive out evil spirits and others with a more figurative motif of "nukjeon" (soul sheet), a visual symbol of the soul of the deceased. In her works, paper becomes more than a means of reproducing reality, but a medium that connects the spiritual and the secular.
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| "Telepathy-Powered Soul Sheets Abreast ― Mesmerizing Mesh #37" (2021) by Yang Hae-gue / Courtesy of the artist and Kukje Gallery |
Yang's pieces reflect the work of the shaman, who transforms a seemingly trivial, everyday material like a sheet of paper into a sacred object, where the spirit is "blown into" it to console the soul and resolve the cause of its "han" (a sense of permanent, deep sorrow.) In other words, she focuses on the entangled relationship between physical matter and the soul that can only be witnessed at particular moments like a shamanistic ritual.
Such a philosophical foundation of infusing the soul and value of life into objects in Korea's Sacred Paper Cutting is shared in the paper folk art traditions of other countries ― Mexico's "Papel picado," the Philippines' "Pabalat," India's "Sanjhi" and the Slavic nations' "Wycinanki," among others.
Yang's 12-piece collage series, "Mesmerizing Mesh," will be on display at Kukje Gallery's K1 hall until Sept. 12. The exhibition will then continue in the gallery's newly-built Rizzoli Studio from Sept. 15, joined by six additional works from the series.
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