Overview

Drawing from Japanese and Korean painting traditions, Walking Along Fuji Kawa uses natural materials and familiar techniques. I stained the surface with coffee to evoke the fibrous texture of Japanese washi paper.

Once dried, pre-sketched forms are outlined in black ink (meok) following the Korean minhwa method. Color is then gradually built up, applied in careful layers that respond to the paper’s absorbency and the texture established by the ink outlines. Hand-ground natural mineral and plant pigments (byeok, seokchae) mixed with animal glue (aekgi) are layered using the balim technique, controlling moisture, ink density, and brush pressure to achieve soft gradations. The mountains and sun, painted in sumi-e ink, ground the composition, with each brushstroke defining texture and contour. Working bit by bit every day over the course of a month, the careful, deliberate rhythm of this layered process became a quiet, meditative act.

I am half-Japanese and half-Korean. I grew up in rural Shizuoka, Japan, and later made my home in Seoul, South Korea. Living between two cultures has shaped how I see and make, guiding my choice of materials and techniques.

Early images from my upbringing, such as Hokusai’s Great Wave, Mt. Fuji, my family’s minka house, and the folds of a kimono, continue to shape how I see and create. Three Netsuke, small ivory carvings from the Tokugawa period (1603 - 1868) collected by my grandfather, Shishi, Akita, and Usagi, serve as omens for luck, fortune, and prosperity. Moving from Shizuoka to Seoul at eight brought distance and dislocation. This work pieces together what felt lost, preserving his stories, patience, precision, and curiosity.