THAT'S SO COAL, BAHK SEON GHI

All Images Courtesy of Bahk Seon Ghi.

I would love to go see this exhibit at the Zadok Gallery in Miami by Korean artist Bahk Seon Ghi who creates sculptures from palm-sized pieces of charcoal suspended from nylon filaments. I came across a picture of his work and was just struck by how beautiful it is and  must take an incredible amount of patience and skill to create. Every piece seems to be perfectly in place.

Bahk’s favorite material is charcoal, as you might have guessed, and is deeply rooted in the traditions of his home country where it is used in daily purification rituals. Wonder if one will feel purified if they walk through this installation? It seems like they might.

Bahk has been quoted as saying “that the idea that man and nature can exist separately is pure fiction. His work points out that humankind is not only derived from nature, but cannot exist without it.” His work clearly illustrates that point and I love the reference to classical architectural elements as well as forces of nature like a cyclone that one cannot control.

The use of such a surprisingly simple material in such an unexpected way and his installations feel like they are moving or alive. In some ways they almost appear to be disintegrating or building themselves on their own. I can only imagine when you enter one of the exhibition rooms, the interplay of light and space must be amazing. Hope that if you are in the Miami area, try to check it out and let me know what you think!

Time now for a little bit about the artisan. Hitomi lives in London, but before arriving in the UK she studied Kutani Pottery in Japan as well as ceramic product design in Copenhagen. She graduated with an MA in Ceramics & Glass from the Royal College of Art, London, in 2009.

I had to research Kutani pottery in order to better understand what it really was all about and to know if that was informing Hitomi’s porcelain style. Turns out that Kutani is a style of Japanese porcelain first established in 1655, by a member of the Maeda clan who set up a kiln in the village of Kutani, Japan. The porcelain style is known for multiple colors—such as greens, blues, yellows, purples, and reds—and bold designs covering most of the surface of each piece. It also turns out that it really has nothing to do with Hitomi’s style at all! Perhaps the only overlap is with her affinity towards the intricacy of plants and that Kutani pottery usually depicts plants and flora.

Hitomi carefully examines all the veins of a leaf, how its edges are shaped and the layering of a flower’s petal. She studies botanical forms in the garden, and also recollects memories of nature from her childhood in Japan, where her family runs a small rice farm. She has said that it is her intention to transfer the leaf’s beauty and detail into her ceramic work, using it as her own language to weave new stories for objects. What new stories she is telling! It is unlike anything I have seen before. I can’t stop thinking about having one of her pieces in my own home. Only hindrence might be that it will cost me thousands to do so. Ah well, one can dream.