Rina Yoon (Milwaukee, Wisconsin)
Mulgil: Waterway
2016
Hand-coiled paper, ink, pigmented sand
72″ x 72″x 2″
Artwork description:
In this work, I address the interconnectedness of nature and human body. I feel deeply connected to the notion that the same river that runs deep below and above the surface of the earth, runs through our bodies.
Artist statement:
Anishnaabe grandmother, Josephine Mandamin who has walked around the Great Lakes has said, “As women, we are carriers of the water. We carry life for the people. So when we carry that water, we are telling people that we will go any lengths for the water.” Water symbolizes continuity of life and on-going flow of time. Earth shifts and makes room for water to make its way, from tiny creeks to streams, to rivers and to seas, and above and below the earth. Water flows into every crevice of the earth, seeps deep below. Like earth, water brings life into our body. My recent body of work, entitled Mulgil: Waterway, is my way of honoring and welcoming the wisdom of water. Mulgil is a Korean word for waterway, and it has more poetic connotations than the English word. There are songs and poems about walking along the waterway, following the water and letting yourself flow like water. As a Korean American artist and a Buddhist, I address the interconnectedness of nature and human body. I feel deeply connected to the notion that the same river that runs deep below and above the surface of the earth, runs through our bodies. I draw the parallel between nature and human body both in fragility and resilience.
Artist Bio:
Rina Yoon is a Korean born visual artist and a professor of Fine Art at the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design in Wisconsin. Yoon received BFA in Fine Art from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas and MFA in Printmaking from Washington University in St. Louis. Yoon focuses on non-traditional printmaking methods including large scale prints, paper installations, multi-media work combining video and sculptural elements with printmaking. Driven by curiosity and sensitivity to materials, Yoon often embraces slow processes to allow time for reflection and meditation. Yoon’s work has been widely exhibited in the United States as well as South Korea, China, India, Italy and Poland. www.rinayoon.com