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| Yee Soo-kyung's "Nine Dragons in Wonderland," a five-meter-high sculpture made up of hundreds of broken ceramic shards, has been brought to Seoul for her solo exhibition of the same name at The Page Gallery. This is the first time the monumental piece is being exhibited at a gallery since it was unveiled at the 2017 Venice Biennale. Newsis |
Artist's imposing 'Nine Dragons in Wonderland' on view for 1st time since 2017 Venice Biennale
By Park Han-sol
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| Artist Yee Soo-kyung / Courtesy of The Page Gallery |
The "trees" here are bulbous sculptures made up of a myriad of broken shards that were once part of refined Korean ceramics ― celadon, white porcelain and black-glazed wares ― handcrafted by master potters across the nation.
But when the quality of the vessels coming out of the kiln failed to satisfy the unforgiving eyes of their creators, they were smashed to pieces ― and eventually ended up in the atelier of artist Yee Soo-kyung (stylized as Yeesookyung).
Since 2002, Yee has been breathing new life into these "fragments of failure" as part of her signature "Translated Vase" series, by piecing them together and gluing the cracks with epoxy resin and 24K gold leaf.
While some say the practice is reminiscent of the Japanese art of "kintsugi," which involves repairing broken wares with gold or silver seams, the reasoning behind her use of gold is more intuitive when explained in the Korean language. It's about covering the "geum" (crack) that indicates failure of the original vessels, with another shimmering "geum" (gold) that highlights those imperfections and turns them into an organic structure with its own story.
A total of 27 ceramic sculptures produced over the last decade, each with its own bulges and curves, are on view at her new solo exhibition, "Nine Dragons in Wonderland."
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| Installation view of Yee Soo-kyung's exhibition, "Nine Dragons in Wonderland" / Courtesy of The Page Gallery |
The show's name also happens to be the title of the five-meter-high centerpiece, which is being displayed for the first time since it was unveiled at the 2017 Venice Biennale's International Art Exhibition.
The monumental installation consists of hundreds of discarded porcelain fragments that Yee acquired over nearly a year from the kilns of renowned ceramics masters in South Korea's Icheon and Gangjin as well as from North Korea's Hoeryong through the Chinese border.
"I tried my best to infuse all I had at the time into this work ― my dreams, ambitions and energy. I don't know if I can produce something like it ever again," the 59-year-old artist said during a press preview held at the gallery last week.
"I'm glad to finally present the sculpture to the audience in Korea. After all, not everyone can afford to fly to the Venice Biennale to see these kinds of works in person," she noted, hinting that this may be the last chance to view the piece before it travels to the United States for an exhibition in the near future. It may never make it back home, if it ends up in the permanent collection of the art institution there.
In addition to being the centerpiece that marks the height of Yee's artistic career, the sculpture represents her particular view toward "translating" the centuries-old Korean ceramics tradition through its title, "Nine Dragons in Wonderland."
Inspired by an ancient Chinese legend of the nine hybrid children of the Dragon King, the artist likens the idea of tradition to these mythological offspring that are not meant to be exclusionary or immutable.
"To me, tradition isn't something that needs to stay in one place and be treated as a sacred, exclusive element like a dragon," she said. "Rather, it's more like the dragon's children that are a hybrid of different creatures. It can constantly interact and fuse with other cultures, thereby birthing a more creative and organic product in the end."
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| Yee Soo-kyung's acrylic painting titled, "Oh Rose! ― as if it was alive" (2022) / Courtesy of The Page Gallery |
Together with "Translated Vase" which launched the artist to global acclaim, on view at the gallery are Yee's painting and media art series which represent her latest stages of creative experimentation with different media.
Her acrylic painting series, "Oh Rose!" seems like an abstract snapshot of a floral garden that sits somewhere between reality and illusion. Such a dreamlike vista is born after she sprinkles her studio and canvas with rose-heavy perfumes like Hermes' Rose Ikebana and Initio Parfums Prives' Atomic Rose.
Her two media artworks further transform this sightly constellation of roses into a glistening flower bed on a digital screen, accompanied by the melodious croon of a traditional Korean "jeongga" vocalist.
"Nine Dragons in Wonderland" runs through Feb. 10 at The Page Gallery.
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