A Fish Out of Water

“This work began with a wooden fish (Mokeo) I encountered in a Buddhist temple many years ago. Suspended beneath the temple eaves, the fish keeps its eyes open day and night, symbolizing vigilance, awareness, and devotion. The image left a lasting impression on me: a creature of the sea inhabiting a mountain temple, embodying the coexistence of seemingly different worlds within a single form.

The sculpture is constructed by hand using the traditional Korean Jogakbo technique, in which small fragments of fabric are stitched together to create a unified whole. Just as disparate pieces of cloth are joined to form a larger structure, human identity is shaped through the accumulation of diverse experiences, memories, relationships, and cultural influences.

At the center of the work is a fish composed of two different fish bodies merged into a single being. It does not represent a choice between one identity and another, nor does it depict two separate entities existing side by side. Instead, it embodies the integration of different histories, cultures, memories, and ways of being into a new and indivisible form.

Today, many people can no longer be defined by a single place, culture, language, or tradition. We move between worlds, carrying multiple histories and belonging to overlapping communities. While such experiences can create uncertainty and displacement, they also open possibilities for connection, understanding, and transformation.

Like a Jogakbo, which preserves the individuality of each fragment while bringing them together into a coherent whole, this work reflects the possibility of coexistence without uniformity. It suggests that identity is not fixed or singular, but continually shaped through encounters with difference.

A Fish Out of Water is not a story about not belonging. Rather, it is a reflection on what it means to live between worlds, to carry multiple identities within a single body, and to discover new forms of community through difference. It is an exploration of the human capacity to adapt, connect, and create meaning across boundaries.”