San Sonamu Dreams

Joomchi, hanji (traditional Korean mulberry paper), Korean silk, sumi ink
12 x 22 inches
2020

San Sonamu Dreams (san sonamu means mountain pine tree in Korean) is a protest against hierarchy and patriarchy. Korean women artists during the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) rarely made landscape paintings because they didn’t have the opportunity to view the gorgeous mountains. Women were not allowed to leave their homes alone without a proper chaperone. I imagine Joseon-era Korean women’s aspirations of traveling to the mountains on her own to enjoy a rigorous hike, breathing in the fresh mountain air full of the healing scent of pine trees and communing with nature. Her chima (traditional Korean skirt) and multiple layers of undergarments are symbols of both beauty and oppression.