Close to Home
Dimensions Variable (DV) presents a solo project titled Close to Home by artist Jee Park. The exhibition opens on July 29, 2023, 6—9 pm in the Solomon Gallery and runs through September 2023.
Since her father’s passing Jee Park’s work has been dealing with loss, grief, anxiety and remembrance. These emotions have been intensified by the lives lost to the pandemic, gun and racial violence. Statistics show that violence against Asian-Americans has skyrocketed, fueled by the fear and blame placed on our community over Covid. Most recently, Asian-American Women in particular have been the target, with Christina Yuna Lee’s senseless killing being one of the most brutal recorded. Christina’s murder was not the only one to make headlines, there were also the attacks on Michelle Go and Gui Ying Ma, amongst others- authorities have not classified any of these three incidents as hate crimes towards the AAPI community. These women’s names, faces and stories haunt the artist, they could’ve been Jee’s auntie, cousin or friend or herself.
Close to Home will investigate memory, trauma, and the healing process in memoriam of women whose lives were cut short by violence. This exhibition will be based on the Suui, a traditional Korean hemp based burial garment, used as a gesture of love and regard for the dearly departed. Different elements of the Suui, such as string and sleeves are combined with bed sheets, pillowcases, and various textiles which reference the body and are associated with Korean burial rituals and final rites of passage.
Close to Home—Jee Park is supported by The Ellies, Miami’s visual arts awards, presented by Oolite Arts.
Close to Home—Jee Park is supported by The Ellies, Miami’s visual arts awards, presented by Oolite Arts.
Jee Park
Jee Park was born in Seoul, Korea. She holds a BFA in painting from the School of Visual Arts, New York, NY and an MA from New York University in New York City. Park’s practice deals with memory, loss and ritual. Her latest works are informed by the Suui- a traditional Korean hemp based burial garment, often used to initiate a rite of passage for the dearly departed. Elements representing the Suui, such as sleeves or string are stitched together with bedsheets, various textiles, and other personal or familial garments of the artist’s daily life. Recent exhibitions include Everything that Remains at Spinello Projects and Cut, Tear, Rupture and Overlay at Edge Zones Art Center in Miami, Florida-where the artist lives and works. Awarded grants include The Ellies, Miami’s visual arts awards, presented by Oolite Arts (2022).
