Keep Standing Up

Mixed Media — sumi ink, hanji, gold pigment ink, silk covered yarn, block prints on East Asian paper, hand stitching on vintage Korean hemp cloth
33 x 22 inches
2020

Nine black squares of hanji (traditional Korean mulberry paper) and 29 block prints of alveoli (tiny air sacs in the lung used for breathing) tied off by silk covered paper yarn adorn the flag painted with sumi ink on hemp cloth. Hemp cloth was traditionally used in Korea for mourning clothes. I was compelled to make this art when the trial of George Floyd’s murderer started this past spring. 9 min 29 sec, the duration of time Derek Chauvin’s knee was on George Floyd’s neck must never be forgotten. Vermillion sumi ink was dropped on the flag to symbolize blood from gun shot wounds of Black lives lost to violence and I burned the bullet holes with incense sticks. Inspired by the Japanese art of kintsugi, mending broken pottery with lacquer and gold, I hand stitched cracks using a Korean pinch stitch method and painted them with gold pigment ink. I trust that our country can and will be restored to a stronger and more beautiful vessel despite its imperfections.