Statement

My work is mainly composed of paper receipts saved from almost every purchase I have made since relocating to the United States in 2007. Each receipt provides a detailed record of my various activities, along with the time, date, and location of the transaction. I sew the receipts together by hand into rectangular panels that can be hung on a wall or stitched together in the form of a garment. The primary inspiration for my work is JoGakBo, the traditional Korean craft of sewing together small scraps of fabric to create a patchwork cloth. By combining the technique of JoGakBo with receipts from daily purchases I fuse the cultures and values of both East and West to create a new hybrid aesthetic. My work is a form of self-meditation that allows me to examine my emotions and motivations as a Korean artist and fashion designer living in the US. My artistic practice unifies my life and art through the repetitive and meditative act of stitching the small papers together. The receipts I collect record the passing of time and supply both memories and facts of my life. They are also examples of American capitalism, wealth, aspirations, and cultural values. Though they are isolated and insignificant fragments of the past that seem impersonal at first, each transaction represented by a receipt is a defining moment along the journey that formed the essence of who I am today. The process of giving weight to the empty, meaning to the meaningless, is the validation of one's existence.