Jae-Eun Choi, New Alliance, 2025, Wood
structure with pressed flowers on 112 urushi lacquered wood panel, framed, 212.6
x 238 x 6.9 cm. ©Kukje Gallery. Photo: Jae-Eun Choi StudioKukje Gallery will present 《Nature Rules》, a solo exhibition by Jae-Eun
Choi (b. 1953), from March 20 to May 11 at K2 and K3. This exhibition showcases
works spanning various media, including sculpture, installation, architecture,
photography, video, and sound, reflecting on the origins of life, time, the
cycle of existence, and the intricate relationship between nature and humanity.
Through this exhibition, Choi reinterprets
and envisions the forest—a subject of her long-standing interest—in diverse
ways. The ‘From the Forest’ painting series, displayed on the first floor of
K2, originates from the artist’s daily walks in the woods. While strolling
through the local forests near her home in Kyoto, she collects fallen leaves
and petals, transforming them into natural pigments that she applies to her
canvases.
Jae-Eun Choi, From the Forest, 2025, Natural
dyes and charcoal pencil on canvas, 100 x 72.7 cm each, 2 sets. ©Kukje Gallery.
Photo: Jae-Eun Choi StudioThe paintings, rendered in shades of pink,
ochre, and soft brown, capture an irreproducible palette unique to the
materials she gathers, offering an abstract yet honest portrait of the forests
she traverses. Additionally, Choi inscribes sounds she hears during her
walks—wind rustling, birds chirping, raindrops falling—directly onto the
surface of the paintings in graphite, phonetically transcribing them as she
perceives them. Her exploration of the light and sounds of the forest continues
on the second floor of K2, where she expands her reflections through text, sculpture,
and video.
At K3, the exhibition introduces Choi’s
ongoing “DMZ Project,” which she has developed over the past decade. Initially
launched under the title Dreaming of Earth, the project has
evolved into Nature Rules, focusing on the ecological
restoration of the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).
Jae-Eun Choi, Seed Bomb Manual ©Kukje
GalleryGiven the vast number of landmines still
buried in the area, Choi proposes the use of drones to scatter small “seed
bombs”—3 to 5 centimeters in diameter—containing tree seeds. Within folding
screens crafted from dried petals collected during her forest walks, computers
are installed, allowing visitors to access a dedicated website. Here, they can
explore a digital map of the DMZ and pledge a donation to plant seed bombs in
their chosen areas.
Through this globally accessible,
boundary-free initiative, Choi envisions the DMZ—a region politically
fragmented for over 70 years—reclaiming its natural sovereignty and serving as
a foundation for renewed hope through collective empathy and engagement.
