This work represents the wounds caused by the loss of cultural identity and the search for remedy in nature. After immigrating to the U.S., I realized my experience of feeling unwelcome in an unfamiliar world and suppressing my Korean identity mirrored my grandfather’s life—born under Japanese occupation and later became a stranger in a rapidly westernizing nation he helped build.
My grandfather and his ancestors used to forage for food and medicine in the nearby mountains, but South Korea completely transformed within just a few generations. This gave us material prosperity but also left us severed from our roots, living as exiles from our own past.
Traditional Korean medicine symbolizes a time when humans and nature were interconnected. These scanographs and images represent the search for solutions to modern illnesses within the system of knowledge passed down from our ancestors. They also signify the possibility of healing our physical and emotional wounds through a reconnection with nature.
