what carries/ what compresses
Filmed/Documented during Shandaken: Storm King Art Center Residency
What carries / what compresses (2025) draws from the ephemeral labor of making sikhye 식혜, a traditional Korean sweet rice drink prepared by women in my family. I strained malt liquid through cheesecloth, tying it into balls with elastic bands. Once squeezed, the perforated cloth became part of the installation, while the dried malt balls hung from the ceiling. A sikhye bottle, suspended with compression springs, rose and fell with wind and weight, and fermented liquid was set to interact with copper rocks traced from stones at Storm King Art Center’s sculpture park. Strainers of varying sizes held rice, carrying both literal weight and the memory of unseen labor. The work reflects on “carrying” as sustaining tradition and “compressing” as the quiet erasure of the effort behind it.
What carries / what compresses (2025) draws from the ephemeral labor of making sikhye 식혜, a traditional Korean sweet rice drink prepared by women in my family. I strained malt liquid through cheesecloth, tying it into balls with elastic bands. Once squeezed, the perforated cloth became part of the installation, while the dried malt balls hung from the ceiling. A sikhye bottle, suspended with compression springs, rose and fell with wind and weight, and fermented liquid was set to interact with copper rocks traced from stones at Storm King Art Center’s sculpture park. Strainers of varying sizes held rice, carrying both literal weight and the memory of unseen labor. The work reflects on “carrying” as sustaining tradition and “compressing” as the quiet erasure of the effort behind it.