Ziesook You
Scent of Broq-pa 05142020
Archival Print on Canvas
40 × 40 inches
Ziesook You
Scent of Broq-pa 06212019
Archival Print on Canvas
24 x 36 inches
Ziesook You
Scent of Broq-pa 04142021
Archival Print on Canvas
60 × 40 inches
Ziesook You
Scent of Broq-pa 05102018
Archival Print on Metal
48 × 31 inches
Ziesook You - Scent of Broq-pa
ZIESOOK'S BIO
Ziesook You has been experimenting with a variety of genres such as photography, video,
installation, and painting.
She portrays her surroundings and daily life in a bold, unaffected video language. Her
pieces include the video diary of her family using time flowing methods, a documentary
film taken in various world travel sites depicting space and time, and 10 Years
Self-Portrait using time compression techniques. She has exhibited Korea, Australia,
Iceland, Taiwan, Hungary, Japan, France, the Netherlands and the United States.
Since 2016, she has been working on the "Scent of Broq-pa" project, which expresses
happiness through the coexistence of humans and nature, with people from various walks
of life and has been exhibiting it in Korea, Hong Kong and the United States.
Her work prefers continuous series in which layers accumulate over a long period of
time, examining time, space, nature and life.
She earned a master’s degree in fine art, and taught contemporary art and video art
and techniques at universities and graduate schools from 2006 to 2014.
From 1999 to 2018, she participated in various studio activities including residency
programs. She participated in a number of exhibitions and had twelve individual
exhibitions. She is currently working at her studio in Dallas area and is participating
in exhibitions in several cities in Texas, South Carolina and California.
ZIESOOK'S STATEMENT
• SCENT OF BROQPA – Broqpa is the name of a small village in
Nepal. Ziesook first learned of it from a TV documentary, The Last Empire. Ziesook was
moved by what she learned about a small village located at the end of the Silk Road in
Nepal named Broq-pa. In Broq-pa, the symbolic meaning of flowers is very special. In the
Nepalese culture, flowers symbolize love, happiness, and appreciation for God. Broq-pa’s
women are committed to growing flowers in their garden and decorate their hair with
flowers every day. Ziesook wanted to incorporate this traditional symbolism from Broq-pa
into her work and into her own personal life. She believes that this ephemeral medium,
the flower, can carry a piece of happiness into people’s lives. Ziesook’s desire to share
the spirit of Broq-pa with people through her artwork was the inspiration for her series,
Scent of Broq-pa. The first work in the Broq-pa project began in 2016 with floral portraits
of her twin daughters. Ziesook is continuing the series by exploring floral portraits of
seniors, single mothers, people from multicultural backgrounds, and different age groups.
Ziesook’s art form always involves communication with the subject. She strives to have
her work project the individual’s personality. Ziesook’s goal is to create an intimate
visual that incorporates multiple layers of meaning. By experimenting with various media
and combining fresh flowers and dry flowers, Ziesook creates an image with characteristics
that lie somewhere between photography and painting.
• TWINS PROJECT – This Project has grown since May, 2016. The
artist takes photos and videos of her twin daughters. They show the harmony of nature and
children, representing the most pure things on earth. The work emphasizes the moment of
intense joy or an ashamed expression; the work follows the growth of the twin children.
If possible, the artist wants to collaborate with local children when being involved with
the flower market of the world project.
• SINGLE MOTHER PROJECT – The artist hopes to give positive
experience and memory to parents and children by collaborating in her work with a neglected
and socially weak class. Collaborating with Holt Children’s Services Inc., the project
interviews eight single mothers at the Charming Garden community for single mothers in
the Gyeonggi office. The interviews were conducted with five families, a total ten people
in May 2018. 1~2 people were photographed in June and July. In case the flowers harm
children, they were collaged on top of the photographs. The issues of portrait rights,
shooting, distribution, and publication were discussed. In the future, an exhibition will
show them with women in various age groups to avoid the issues of portrait rights and
prejudice. Also, with the concern of portrait rights, the project had been privately
exhibited at the Gyeonggi office of Holt Children’s Services Inc. from September 1 to 8.
After the exhibition, the works were sent to each family as a gift. The artist plans to
work with adopted children and their family by continuing the collaboration with the
Gyeonggi branch of Holt Children’s Services Inc. The artist hopes her work to be a
meaningful gift for adopted children who would have it as a lasting memory when they
visit someday.
• SENIOR PROJECT –In the Mood for Love – This project was
conducted around one charming senior citizen. The artist first met elderly women at the
museum by conducting photography and video work. They were older than she expected, and
they had had a quite hard and tough life. Although their situation continued, they told
their stories truthfully. During this time the artist found out that Mrs. Lee Geumrae had
wanted to open a flower shop in the past. She lost her husband when young, so she had to
work at a textile factory for her children and could not open the shop. The artist could
not even imagine how difficult this woman’s life could be but she saw her always with a
happy and active attitude. Thinking that she wanted to present a flower shop to her, the
artist came up with an idea of inviting Mrs. Lee to the Scent of Broqpa project. On the
day of shooting, Mrs. Lee put on make up and prepared several costumes; the artist saw
that a flower bloomed on her face on that day. Then, the artist also worked with six
elderly women in June and July. The colorful and somewhat tatty flower patterned blouse
that they wore went together somehow with the artist’s concept. The artist smiled when
looking at them having a big smile. They were always complaining but the artist knew
that they were shyly sitting like girls. They were really like a girl with a big smile
in the photos. For the artist, it would be difficult to understand their life, lasting
twice longer than her own, but she was sure that they bloomed at that moment. The project
aims to give the beautiful moment of life to elderly people who stand in front of death
for “in the mood of love”.
• MULTI CULTURE PROJECT – The artist conducted this project with
multi-cultural families in Seongnam in May 2017. By doing so, the artist wanted to talk
about the beauty of who they are although they have different skin colors.
• DIFFERENT AGE GROUPS – There is no woman who does not like a
flower. By putting flowers in the hair of middle and elderly men and women who once
enjoyed their youth, the artist gave them a new birth for a moment. The artist believes
that her hope for happiness for today’s neglected classes might gradually gain power and
a history through her projects.
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