Times of Contemplation, soft vessel series, 2024

  ​Clay serves as a medium for narrating the remnants of memory—formed through unpredictable, layered interactions with others and myself. These remnants often materialize as precarious, vulnerable forms that explore the balance between strength and fragility, echoing the ephemerality of human connection.

  At the core of my practice lies the sculptural vessel. Rooted in Korean metaphor, the vessel represents character and tolerance; in Korean culture, someone with generosity is often described as having a “big vessel.” I use this form not just for its cultural resonance but to explore relational depth—how individuals widen or constrict themselves in response to others. Built slowly by hand, my open vessels embody that tension: their gradually expanding forms capture a continuum of intimacy, growth, and vulnerability.

  Drawing from minimalism, geometry, and organic forms, I construct each piece through a meditative hand-building process. My fingerprints and coil lines remain visible, bearing witness to my dialogue with clay. Like nurturing a living organism, this process is shaped by time, patience, and care—marking each object with gestures of presence.

  My practice extends beyond object-making into open systems of thinking and making—where clay is not confined to the vessel but reimagined as pigment, surface, and spatial trace. This shift reflects a desire to question traditional hierarchies of material, sequence, and meaning—to unbuild and rebuild not only form, but process itself. By reordering familiar methods and repurposing clay beyond its expected use, I engage ceramics as a contemporary language of transformation and inquiry.

  Across all forms, my work remains rooted in slowness, repetition, and memory—an ongoing search for quiet structures that hold space for time, touch, and becoming.