Peculiar Creature
Jiyoung Chung makes her own joomchi, a type of thickly fibrous Korean papier-mache that is formed by soaking the paper in water, then kneading it repeatedly and flattening it into sheets. This strenuous work leads to the raw material with which Jiyoung fashions her wall hangings and wall sculptures.
The essence of Jiyoung's art resides in the interplay of light, shadow, color, and texture. Some of her pieces are like diaphanous webs, patchy and semi-translucent, letting strong lines and deep crevasses pattern themselves against the background in inky black. Others don't cast shadows, but rather are palettes for bold colors that arch into the foreground in distinct shapes.
While the former pieces titillate one's gaze, exploding one's attention into a thousand different directions, the second set concentrates the viewer's focus on positive, constructive elements, defining and protruding and projecting into three-dimensional space. In each, a mood is conjured and wafted through one's senses, like a breath on the wind.