Yeonji (2013), digital print, 100 x 68 cm (1/3)
Yeonji (2013) is a digitally manipulated photographic portrait of myself wearing traditional Korean wedding costume and set against traditional Korean architecture. Here the Yeonji, which traditionally adorn the bride’s cheek – symbolising heatlh and virtue – has morphed into a huge red circle that obliterates the bride’s features.
The image is based on a collage, made in 2009, of my actual wedding photograph. I restaged the scene in 2013 with the kind cooperation of the Korea Foundation gallery at The British Museum.
Yeonji, installation view, Theresa Hak Kyung Cha (1951-82): a portrait in fragments, KCCUK, 2013