Yeeun Jang

I’ve been spending a lot of time researching various materials for building frames in order to challenge myself with forms that are more complex and seemingly unreal. Even ordinary tools that we use in daily life can become interesting frames in my work, so I try to expose myself to as many different materials as possible.

I was born and raised in Seoul, which is a city that changes very quickly. I think growing up in that environment naturally influenced the way I work. I enjoy constant development and experimentation. Korea is also a place where tradition and modernity coexist. While my work does not directly reference traditional Korean aesthetics, I think that contrast has influenced the way I perceive beauty. I am interested in transforming organic and familiar materials such as flowers into unexpected forms. The speed and energy of Seoul have naturally become part of me as well. Repetitively attaching large quantities of flowers actually helps calm that side of my personality. At the same time, I tend to complete large-scale projects faster than most people. Life in Seoul taught me how to work quickly, adapt quickly, and turn ideas into reality. It remains an important part of my creative process today.

I feel most comfortable when a pair of flower shears is always within reach. I have a specific pair that I like, and whenever I visit the flower market, I usually buy several of the same ones. Whether I am in the studio, in my car, or at home, I like having flower shears nearby.

I am not someone who started this work because I particularly loved flowers. To be completely honest, I do not have the talent to create something beautiful from a blank slate. My father was a graphic designer, and I also studied design, but I always felt that I lacked the ability to create something entirely from nothing. That is why I chose flowers as my material. Flowers already possess a strong sense of beauty on their own, and I wanted to borrow that beauty to create my own expression.

There have been so many failures that it is difficult to choose just one. At one point, inspired by a fashion designer, I wanted to create a large-scale sculptural piece with a complex geometric structure using wire and fabric. However, I do not think my technical skills were sufficient at the time. I would like to challenge myself with it again someday.

Surprisingly, I rarely look at flowers outside of work. I do not have flowers or plants in my home. Instead, I enjoy observing nature itself. I live in an area where the city and nature coexist closely, so I take my dogs for walks every day. I enjoy observing the structures and textures created by nature, such as branches that grow downward rather than upward, unusually shaped rocks, or the regular yet irregular arrangement of lotus leaves floating on a lake. Those observations often find their way into my work.

My approach depends on the type of flower and the purpose of the work. Sometimes I use wire, and other times floral glue or tape. When I work with fresh flowers, I prefer varieties that last relatively long, such as anthuriums, tulips, and calla lilies. However, due to the nature of my work, I use artificial flowers much more often than fresh flowers.

I spend far more time building the frame than selecting the flowers. In my work, the most important thing is not which flowers I use, but how perfectly I can realise the frame. Depending on the scale of the project, the process can take anywhere from three days to a month.

Almost always. When the work begins moving in a different direction from my original sketch, I adjust quickly. I believe that trying one more thing and failing one more time is ultimately what helps me grow.

My work requires a great deal of physical energy, so I prefer going to bed early and waking up early rather than staying up all night. After completing a large project, I can usually prepare for the next one after getting around twelve hours of sleep.

While working, I often play videos about society, art, philosophy, or documentaries about space. Spending long hours working alone can sometimes make me feel disconnected from the world.

I think we have become very accustomed to experiencing everything through images and videos. Flowers are also mostly consumed as decorations, products, or photographs. I want to present those familiar things in unfamiliar ways. I am interested in moments when changing the scale, structure, and context allows people to see something they thought they knew from an entirely different perspective. I like the concept of chagyeong (borrowed scenery). It is a landscape design technique that brings scenery from outside a space into the space itself. Today, we spend much of our lives indoors and in front of screens. Because of that, our longing for nature seems to grow stronger, and when we represent nature, we often try to recreate it exactly as it appears in reality. However, rather than imitating nature, I want to use flowers to create landscapes and emotions that feel as though they could not exist in reality. If I ever have the opportunity to install my work in a large space as a form of landscape design, I would like to create a sense in which the boundary between reality and unreality becomes blurred. I hope people can spend a moment wandering somewhere between the two.

I am not particularly attached to a specific museum or gallery. For me, the name of the space is less important than how well the space suits the work itself. It could be a white-cube exhibition space, a street, a public space, or somewhere completely unexpected. I would like to meet audiences in a place where my work can exist most naturally.

I believe fashion itself is already a form of art. People express their tastes, emotions, values, and identities through clothing, and I see that as a creative act of expressing oneself. For that reason, I do not think of fashion and art as completely separate. Both are completed through people, and both function as languages of self-expression. I do not think there is a specific criterion that transforms clothing into wearable art. Rather, it happens when the person wearing it is able to place their own story into it. If someone can express themselves, communicate with others, and create new emotions or experiences through clothing, then it is already fulfilling the role of art.

I greatly admire the work of Iris van Herpen. Her pieces often feel more like sculptural works than garments. The way she combines technology, structure, and movement is particularly impressive. However, I never studied fashion design, nor am I someone who collects fashion professionally. Rather than owning specific pieces, I am more interested in observing the work itself, studying how it was made, and considering how I might apply similar ideas to my own practice.

There are simply too many people I would like to work with to choose just one. Honestly, if one of my works were ever to appear at the Met Gala, that alone would feel like a dream. It’s enjoyable just to imagine it. If I had one wish, it would be to work with someone who is open to seeing flowers as more than decoration and expressing them in a new way. Whether that person is a singer, actor, model, or designer is not particularly important. I think I could enjoy collaborating with anyone who is willing to view and express flowers in an unconventional way.

Rather than delivering a specific message, I want to make familiar things feel unfamiliar. Flowers are materials that everyone recognises, but I try to reinterpret them through sculptural and structural approaches. If my work can make someone pause and look for a moment, that alone is enough for me.