The following description comes from the event organizer.

Internationally recognized artist Jiyoung Chung brings the ancient joomchi tradition, a Korean method of hand felting hanji paper, into the world of contemporary art. Chung’s richly textured, dimensional joomchi sculptures create poetic visual narratives about connection, and the strengths and holes in the essential relationship between humanity, nature, and spirit.

Joomchi is a traditional Korean method of making handmade paper from multiple sheets of mulberry paper, water and agitation. The process breaks down the layers of paper and reconnects them into one piece, which Chung then sculpts into compositions that are simultaneously airy and graceful, yet incredibly strong. The fibers must be agitated for hours to fuse together, but Chung utilizes the process to dialogue with the material and grapple with deeper issues. “The holes, layers and free mounting of my work represent these conversations, the whispers and the breath between them.”

The artworks often verge into the sculptural, whether through paper threads and dimensional aspects that pronounce off the surface, or by showcasing the artwork in space to expose subtle layers of shadow and depth. “When the breeze comes in and the person walks by, it gently moves like it is breathing in the space and with the viewer... I regard this interaction as a dialogue between moving and stillness”, says Chung.