Interview with Eunju Park

Do you think that jewelry is being standardized?
Jewelry can be classified into two major categories in terms of the production process, the design intent and the customer. One is the Fine Jewelry (or Costume Jewelry) as Commercial Jewelry. Commercial Jewelry would be standardized to some extent, because of the consumer market which takes into account such important factors as sales and marketing, production systems, the cost of raw material, and the distribution. Different from the Commercial Jewelry in the consumer market, Contemporary Jewelry is used as an art tool to express the artist’s vision, aesthetic insight and the imagination. So the standardization of the Contemporary Jewelry would be difficult because one artist may have a different aesthetic vision than other artists.

What is there of local and universal in your artistic work?
Art works are influenced by the artist ideology and the culture and history in which the artist lives. My work is the same. My main subject is life which is born from women’s body, and I wanted to create the jewelry to look like a part of the woman's body. My work is influenced by Asian philosophy, especially Zen Buddhism. The images of my works are from the plants and animals living around me. The main technique, called ‘the dense and continuous weaving’ is originated from “Horsehair Crafts”, a Korean traditional craft technique.

What do you expect when exposing your work to the public (for example with an exhibition)?
Different from other traditional art exhibitions, the Jewelry exhibition would be unique. I would like to make my exhibition a unique space for the interactive communication that allows people to see, wear and touch my jewelry.

Are other areas, besides the jewelry, present in your work?
I am teaching classes, such as “The Method of the Jewelry Design” and “The Fabrication of Jewelry” for undergraduates and graduates.

The last work, book, film that has moved me was…
I was inspired by the painting "Paradise Lost" by Raqib Shaw. By chance, I recently saw his paintings in the Chelsea Art Gallery in New York City. I was shocked to see how precise his paintings are. The documentary film, "Searching for Sugar Man" was very impressive because it showed a person’s miraculous life. I recently read the mystery novel, “Tales of the Black Widowers” by Isaac Asimov.

A place, space, country whose creativity surprise me…
I traveled to New York City recently. It was a great chance to look at the original works of Odilon Redon in the Whitney Museum. Also, in the Chelsea Art Gallery I was very impressed by the works of contemporary artists who are currently and actively working.

Is there any designer, jeweler, artist, you appreciate a lot?
I respect a jeweler named Hermann Jünger. His works are philosophical and poetic. In addition, his jewelry contains the Deep understanding of the materials he used.

What piece or work has given you the most satisfaction?
Float1 and Float 2 from my solo exhibition titled “Room” are my favorites. This series of the works was shaped from the pump indicating the first sign of birth in the womb. The frame of the thin Sterling Silver lines shows the appearance of the incoming water is blown. To express the clean and soft water, I used the translucent plastic. Soft and light pendant is intended to be positioned in the uterus naturally when worn. I think the techniques, materials and the shapes in my works are used properly to express the topic which I want to.