Ta-iL20, 56.3 x 69.7 cm, graphite on board
This drawing is one of several series based on traditional Korean roof tiles. Such tiles are fast disappearing from rapidly modernising cities like Seoul, displaced by global and generic architecture. My drawings use the qualities of graphite to de-familiarise the form of the tiles, bringing into question that which the passing viewer encounters as surface, depth and shape. A cultural enquiry thus becomes a formal investigation, involving perception, perspective and illusion.
The title Ta-iL transmits the way that the English word ‘tile’ is commonly inflected through Korean speech, demonstrating how international exchange inform local cultures.