silk dye, Korean silk embroidery threads, scraps of Korean silk fabric 2018-2019

Every part of me informs the bojagi, an 8’X8’ quilt that acts as a living conversation between me and my mother who sewed the quilt together. My mother, who also once studied art, crafted a quilt at my request. Since then, I’ve spent countless hours painting and embroidering a version of the Ship-JangSaeng, or Ten Symbols of Longevity (Fig. 1), a ubiquitous, auspicious symbol in Korean culture. In effect, I’ve spent time reflecting on the years of emotional and physical labor mothers exert in raising and making sacrifices for their children. With the quilt as a vessel for both verbal and artistic conversation, it and the subsequent work that surrounds its time-based imagery and practice allows me to fill the generational gap of silence and reconstruct my personal cultural identity.