Tea Drawings Project / 2

The reason why I would like to develop environmentally-friendly patterns is that the approaches and attempts to create those patterns are rather timid and little in comparison with attempts which have done in other design sectors. However, at the beginning, I confronted a big obstacle. How can surface patterns be sustainable? Does it mean that I have to design patterns which can persist for a long time?

In the end, I have decided to make patterns communicating sustainable messages to people. So I have observed oriental philosophies which concern nature and its importance and I realised that the notion of Taoism could be the one that I have pursued. Prior to designing, I closely looked at the notion of Taoism.

The most important disciplines of Taoism is being in harmony with nature and living in accordance with natural laws. To lead a simple life following Taoism, we should go back to the beginning because even a big tree starts with a small seed and end up its life returning to the earth and being a small seed once again. Taoists believe that this is the natural law and its cycle. I also believe that this is the huge, irresistible flow and movement of nature and the one I would like to visualise and deliver through my designs.

YUMI CHON

Tea Drawings Project / 1

The way takes no action,
but leaves nothing undone.
When you accept this,
the world will flourishin harmony with nature.
Nature does not possess desire.
Without desire, the heart becomes quiet;
In this manner the whole world is made tranquil.

*Images
The process of Tea Drawings Project (by YUMI CHON)
*Music
Canon Variation (performed by Seoul Saeul Gayageum Trio)
*Text
The Essence of TAO (written by Pamella Ball)

Eco Textile Exhibition

21st May - 27th May 2008
Gallery i (Seoul, Korea)

After the 1st solo exhibition, I started using discarded things to make more precise and understandable designs as eco-textile patterns. However, it doesn’t mean that I just collected and used them to add some plausible meanings in my works. I truly believe that there are still beauty remained in discarded things such as plastic bags, paper cups and tea bags. Thus I want people to realise that we are surprisingly used to throwing things away without second thoughts about the possible value or beauty dwelling in them.

YUMI CHON

The 1st Solo Exhibition

YUMI CHON

The 1st Solo Exhibition

21st Nov. - 27th Nov. 2007

Gallery GAIA (Seoul, Korea)

I am trying to view nature in terms of Taoism, one of the oriental philosophies which believes that people should lead a simple honest life and not interfere with the course of natural events. This focuses on the harmonized interrelationship between nature and human beings. The main theory of this doctrine can be summarized as one word-‘inaction’. It doesn’t mean idleness, but an exclusion of human activities in the cycle of nature.

Asian countries have been based on agriculture and this has let people adapt themselves to circumstances and nature. People can sow seeds and do their best to cultivate them, but it is nature that makes them grow. From this point of view, human activities have a certain limitation in the process of nature. Therefore, I set my mind to focus on the cycle of nature and have made various attempts to express it.

While preparing my first solo exhibition, I focused on visualizing the damaged ground on paper by making scratches and rough textures with knives and sharp tools and then added dried flowers or drew other motifs which symbolize the constant power of nature. Because I think that even though the nature is being hurt and sometimes a certain part of lands seems to be severely deteriorated, new leaves have sprouted up on that barren land, thanks to the self-treatment system of nature. Those patterns were applied to fabrics, and other objects such as tiles and tables in order to communicate my notions to people and to let them consider nature by seeing these patterns on daily necessities.

YUMI CHON