Placing large Korean fermentation jars on the historic site where Canadian fermenting crock pots used to be produced has significant meaning for me, and is something I have been envisioning since I immigrated to Canada. In Korea, these types of jars are called Onggi and people use them for fermentation of foods such as Kimchi and rice wine (Mak-geol-li). When I was first trained in South Korea, I learned a great deal of unique Korean traditional techniques, including how to make Onggi. Those traditional Korean techniques and culture are deeply embedded in me. Although I have been living in Canada for almost a decade, the core of my work still comes from that culture. Having these Onggi jars around me growing up, learning the techniques of how to  make them, and then  actually creating  them in my new home here in Canada, becomes a reflection of who I am – traditional vessels made with Canadian resources by using Korean traditional techniques. This New-Old style of work represents the current me, which feels somewhere in between two cultures.

When audiences enter the installation space, they  are  surrounded by  the sounds of fermentation that I recorded when Korean traditional rice wine was fermenting in these Onggi jars, which were created in a beehive kiln during the residency here at Medalta. Viewers are welcome to touch the vessels as they  listen to the sound of  the transformation that occurred  inside these jars.