The Day the Old Tree Bloomed

Seokhyang (石香, “stone juniper”) is the juniper of Ulleungdo that has kept itself alive for centuries in the cracks of barren rock — a symbol of accumulated time and of nature’s strength. This work reinterprets the organic form and rough grain of the seokhyang as ceramic sculpture, holding the traces of time that nature has carved.

Black and brown ottchil were applied again and again over porcelain clay to create the deep texture of weathered wood. Slab and coil building were combined to shape roots and trunk growing into one another. Rather than imposing symmetry, I kept the natural twists and cracks, letting the passage of time shape the form.

Empty, the vase is an old tree that has endured the years. The moment a single flowering branch is placed in it, the work is complete and carries the meaning of life. The meeting of old tree and flower is not an ending but another beginning: time carries life forward, and life carries time onward again. This work holds that cycle of nature, and its hope.