Chogak Jogak
Diana Un-Jin Cho
April 01 to May 31, 2012
Chogak Jogak is comprised of two-dimensional paper collages and embroidery inspired by the traditional Korean textile known as Jogakbo.
Bio
Diana Un-Jin Cho is a fibre/textile artist based in Calgary, AB. She received her BFA with distinction in fibre from the Alberta College of Art + Design and her art has since been exhibited in solo and juried group exhibitions in Alberta, as well as in Toronto, New York and Rhode Island. Diana Un-Jin's work is defined as a visual reconciliation of the dramatically different aesthetics of Korea and Canada. Her recent artwork focuses on hues and patterns inspired by fourteenth century Jogakbo quilting in Korea. She enjoys the interplay of color, pattern, and texture and strives to create a visual energy within each piece. Her work is included in public and private collections, including the Alberta Foundation for the Arts and The City of Calgary Civic Art Collection
Essay
My visual endeavors are concerned with cultural identity, along with pattern and texture making. This +15 exhibition consists of a series of paper collages and small embroideries inspired by Jogakbo (also known as Chogakbo) designs. Jogakbo is a form of Korean patchwork originating from the 14th century when Korean women used up their scraps of silk, cotton, or linen from making hanbok (Korean traditional clothing) to make blankets and multipurpose covers. Jogakbo was made by sewing remnants of small pieces of cloth together with a multitude of crossing lines not unlike quilting in North America. It is a humble object used by common people in Korea for over 200 years but each design is unique and timeless.
As a Korean Canadian, I became particularly interested in the beauty of Jogakbo and began to create a series of work in 2007. It involves experimenting with brightly colored cotton and silk threads and hand-made mulberry papers imported from Korea. For every piece, my focus is on reinterpreting jogakbo designs and incorporating my colour aesthetics. I am also interested in creating a labyrinth of repeated geometric shapes and patterns to create the effect of an optical illusion. In my recent pieces I have integrated white mulberry papers with Hangul (native alphabet of the Korean language) printed on it to further emphasize the beauty of the Korean heritage and language. Each piece is an assemblage of patterns and colours inducing memory and cultural identity.
- Diana Un-Jin Cho, 2012