Diffuses Light, Mingles with the Dust (Hwa Kwang Dong Jin)
2003
In his work to date, contemporary Korean artist Son Man-jin has employed copper wire, old candles, misshapen clay and plastics to startling effect. Here the artist returns to more traditional materials, but the result remains wholly original. He engraves a phrase on the convex surface of a 200-year-old tile salvaged from his hometown in Southeast Korea, then creates a single rubbing highlighted by his own dynamic calligraphy. The four-character phrase is taken from Lao-zi and reads: "Dim your brilliant light and become one with the dust."
Engraving and color on tile
8 x 4 x 16in. (20.3 x 10.2 x 40.6cm)
Gift of Kim Kyoo-Yun
2003.114