Jo-Gak-Bo (traditional Korean patchwork, 2013)
“…they are like chaff which the wind blows away.” (Psalms 1:4)
Jogakbo is a participatory project and mixed media installation that evolved from a study of the impact of Korea’s rapid industrialization, urbanization and Westernization on the traditional structure of the Korean family. The project turns a spotlight on the large number of elderly Koreans who are living in poverty, and on the disproportionally high percentage of suicides amongst this population.
The project was created with residents of Geumcheon, an impoverished and underdeveloped neighborhood in Seoul, and the locale of the residency program that fostered the project.
Resident participants were initially engaged in dyeing rice husk in traditional fabric colors in preparation for the performance events. In the installation-performance, residents and other visitors to the show were invited to collaborate in creating a large scale, Jogakbo-inspired, physical installation, by placing the dyed rice husk on a large scale vertical canvas--a "suction wall" created with an array of industrial blower fans.. The husk was suspended on the surface of the canvas by air suction created with an array of suction motors.
The husk ("chaff"), a worthless byproduct of grain processing, evokes the leftover pieces of fabric used in fabricating traditional Jogakbo patchwork. The impermanent and precarious nature of the installation and the symbolic resonance of the dyed rice husk, allude to the fragile fabric of Korean tradition, and to the active engagement that is required for its sustainability and survival.
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