In Furious Bloom

Potted chrysanthemums, Chinese ink 

Compulsive Beauty

Space 15th
Seoul, Korea

September 15th, 2010 

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Blooming chrysanthemums are painted black with mo, Chinese ink, and are alive for the duration of the exhibition. Chinese words "In Furious Bloom" are written with dripping ink on the wall behind the flowers. The composition is wild and congested at certain moments, and sparse towards the ends, creating a melody for a lament of love lost. Chrysanthemums, traditionally used in funerals, are a nod to time passed. While the live plants dressed in black ink is also a testimony to the perseverance and power of renewal.

Mo, Chinese ink, has been the main medium for expression and communication for centuries in East Asia. It embodies all colors, emulates all forms, gives meaning to brush strokes, and aesthetic achievements. Concurrently, black is the culmination of all colors and absent of all light. It is also a powerful symbol of void and muteness. And in this installation, black ink dominates the artistic vocabulary. Rather than painting flowering plants on paper, the ink is directly applied to the objects, in three-dimensional space, with time being the fourth element of change.