2020 Changwon
Sculpture
Biennale

Translated Vase

This work is a sculpture made of the broken fragments of an abandoned vase. YEE collected the fragments of a vase broken by an unknown ceramic artist because he or she deemed it to be a failure. Now, these fragments were re-used as materials for this newly created “sculpture that is not a sculpture.” We all know that Korean traditional ceramic artists break their works if they spot any flaw however small. It is their ritual in their pursuit of the one perfect flawless vase. Now, YEE collected those thrown-away useless pieces of vases and put them together like a jigsaw puzzle to make a new sculpture. The gold that pastes those pieces together newly adds to “the discarded things” not only the useful purpose but also high value as an art piece. She completes a work that contains new stories and meanings after translating and interpreting the broken vase. Now we can understand the meaning behind the title, Translated Vase.