스킵네비게이션

Kyunghwa Kim’s egg nestled on Ilgwang Beach invokes the idea of a gargantuan creature birthing its offspring on Ilgwang beach and returning to its deep-sea home in the hadopelagic zone, leaving this mysterious, stranded object for us to ponder upon. Made from fragments of mother-of-pearl stripped from abandoned cabinets and wardrobes, this egg is covered in stories of human and non-human myths, symbols, and narratives. It depicts immortal bonghwangs (Asian phoenixes), pomegranate and pine trees, peony bushes, village dwellings, and celestial bodies. This egg also speaks to the various socio-economic histories of Korea and the East Sea told through the material of mother-of-pearl: histories of trade across East Asia since the Tang dynasty, cultural consumption and class stratification across the eras, and the labour of molluscs and human artisans.