Interview Yoonjung Choi: Breathing Life Into Art. The Grand Award Winner of Romanian Jewelry Week 2024

The Breath Series, started in 2018, uses rounded, flexible curves to capture the essence of breath and life’s invisible moments. Yoonjung incorporates 3D printing to create soft, organic forms, moving away from traditional geometric designs. She combines lightweight plastic with silver structures for functionality and aesthetics, using a detailed dyeing process to bring the shapes to life with vibrant colors and soft gradients.


Your collection, especially the Breath Series, is deeply rooted in the cycle of life and death through the metaphor of breath. What inspired you to explore this theme, and how do you feel it connects to human experience?

My works express the invisible existence of life and breath through the swelling, round shapes of sculptures. The representation of breath and life originates from my child. The experience of my first pregnancy and childbirth made me realize the noble power that brings life into being and the greatness of a life sustained by breath. The sight of my peacefully sleeping child, their chubby cheeks, the sensation of movement when I hold them, and the daily growth of my child provide me with the greatest inspiration, evoking the tangible forms of breath. 


A ring from the Breath Series worn on my child's hand.                                                A brooch designed inspired by an ultrasound image of a fetus



The theme of life is a common subject for many artists. I give birth to my expression of life as embodied forms with volume through the medium of breath. The idea of breath first came to me from a scene in a film. Watching the male protagonist, who is grieving the sudden death of his wife, struggle to dispose of a balloon filled with her breath, which she had blown up days before, sparked my curiosity about the breath contained in the balloon. What is breath, which is invisible and formless, shaped like? What would my breath look like? This led to the conception of the Breath Series.

I wanted to create round, soft shapes of breath that are intangible yet possess a warm and friendly image. I imagined the form of a small living being cradled in my hands and thought about the mysterious appearance of life that sways with inhalation and exhalation, characterized by graceful curves.


Yoonjung Choi. Brooch: Balanced #113, 2024. Sterling silver, 3D-printing. 11 x 11.4 x 3 cm. From series: Breath Series.



You often use the imagery of internal organs like the heart and lungs in your designs. What drew you to these particular forms, and how do you approach translating something so visceral into an art form like jewelry?

The "Breath Series: Balanced", exhibited at the 2024 Romania Jewelry Week, is part of the "Breath" jewelry project series that has been in progress since 2022. It was created while preparing for a planned exhibition titled "Ars Longa" in South Korea, where a new attempt was made to connect the expression of human organs and "breath." The "Ars Longa" exhibition carries the subtitle "The Endless Path to Healing Humanity." This exhibition showcases modern jewelry and crafts from a new perspective through the commonalities of medicine and art, both of which possess the power to heal humanity.


Yoonjung Choi. Brooch: Balanced no.002. Pulmonology, 2022. Special plastic, sterling silver. 9.5 x 11.5 x 4 cm.


The "Balanced" series, created for this exhibition, began with a deep contemplation of the dignity of human life, medicine, and artistic expression. It aims to express the shape of "breath" through the organs of the body that govern the breath of life. The respiratory system, lungs, and pathways that connect the inside and outside of the body became a new source of inspiration for visualizing breath in the artworks.

The holes that connect the inside and outside of the "Balanced" series, along with the swollen, round pieces, evoke the image of the pouches of the body's organs that contain breath, symbolizing balance between body and form through their symmetrical shapes. These forms conjure images of a body filled with breath as it is born and fading away as it empties, capturing the cycle of life and death.



Your work is described as revealing the unseen history of life. How do you approach the challenge of making life's invisible or intangible aspects visible through your designs?

We visually render invisible elements through various representative forms, such as geometric shapes, organic shapes, and abstract forms, depending on how we express these intangibles. In visually embodying the invisible elements, I intuitively create sculptures that represent life by giving form and volume to breath.

The "Breath Series" jewelry expresses the meaning of life through these invisible elements, symbolizing the birth, growth, decay, and continuous cycle of life through the forms of breath that possess vitality. It visually reveals invisible breath, conveying the mystery and beauty of life.

Although breath is an intangible existence that cannot be seen, its reality and functioning can only be confirmed through the living beings it mediates. Breath enters the body, like air filling a balloon, initiating vitality, injecting energy into the body, and embodying the soul. The researcher believes that the shape of breath is, in fact, the representation of life, and seeks to reveal the invisible properties of breath through the jewelry. By implementing rounded, swollen organic masses and the pathways that allow breath to flow in and out of living beings, the work symbolizes the continuous vitality sustained through breath.



Could you walk us through your creative process? How do you move from conceptualization to physical execution, especially when dealing with such complex forms like organs or the metaphor of breath?

The "Breath Series," initiated by the researcher in 2018, consists of art jewelry made up of pieces with rounded and flexible curves. The works in the Breath Series express the moments when life swells and halts through the invisible essence of breath as a means of representation. In other words, the organic forms that swell with inhaled breath serve as a medium to convey warm life, allowing the viewer to sense the invisible breath and express the artist's intent.

The researcher adopted and utilized 3D printing techniques in the process of shaping the form and volume of breath. The 3D printing technique was explored and implemented as a methodology to create a light and sturdy volume that visually represents breath.

I aimed to move away from the geometric patterns, repetitive structures, and multidimensional spatial images often seen in the works of jewelry artists using traditional 3D printing. Instead, I sought to create pieces with soft and natural curves that resemble organic forms. Additionally, considering that the weight of the jewelry, which is proportional to the volume, may adversely affect its wearability on the body, I made efforts to find a 3D printing method and output media suitable for lightweight and sturdy three-dimensional expression.





The rounded objects made of plastic, created through sketching and 3D modeling, are combined with the structure of silver material. The metal structure fixes the form at the back of the piece, creating a single three-dimensional object. This allows the plastic sculptures to connect, representing each cluster of breath as a single living being, a single body. Additionally, it provides a decorative effect and serves as a functional piece of jewelry.

I also use dye for poly materials to color the outputs at temperatures of 40–50°C. The dyeing process allows for vivid colors and natural color transitions, such as gradient effects, while maintaining the transparency of the medium. For the creation of the piece, I mixed dyes that closely resemble human skin tones and divided the dyeing process into several applications to achieve a soft gradient effect by varying the temperature and concentration of the dye. Through this dyeing process, I aimed to emphasize the beauty of the curves and volume of the shapes, drawing attention to the finely detailed representations of small protrusions.


 Yoonjung Choi Working process.



Given your background in Metal Art & Design, how does your training influence your choice of materials and techniques? How do you balance craftsmanship with your conceptual vision?

I strive to overcome my fear of novelty in the selection of materials and techniques. I teach and research new material studies in metal craft and contemporary jewelry at the university. Continuous exploration for new research and guidance for students each semester helps maintain a balance between consistent craftsmanship and conceptual vision. In other words, I believe that continually honing my craft and seeking out creative and challenging subjects to develop my work is what realizes that balance.



You’ve showcased your work in exhibitions across multiple countries. How do different cultural contexts influence your approach to designing, if at all? Do you adapt your pieces to resonate with different audiences, or do you keep the same essence in all of your collections?

I want to maintain the same essence. My theme originates from life, which applies to us all. The essence and vital energy of life remain constant across cultures, and its value is the same for everyone.
While the design of the work may change according to the place, time, culture, and theme of the exhibition, these changes are merely in color, item variations, or the addition of decorative elements. The essence of the work and the intent of the artist remain consistent, and I have worked to uphold that continuously.

Yoonjung Choi. Brooch: Breath Series #008, 2019. Special plastic, silver 925. 9 x 10.7 x 3.5 cm. From series: Breath Series. Photo by Kwangchoon Park.



Your solo exhibitions, such as The Breath Pouch and Breath, The Sculpture of Volume, span several years. How has your interpretation of breath and life evolved across these works?

My Breath Series works progress from "The Sculpture of Volume" to "The Sculpture of Volume 2020", "The Breath Pouch", and finally to "Breath Series: Balanced".

"The Sculpture of Volume" begins with the visualization of breath. By giving breath volume and shape, I created these pieces as modern art jewelry. In "The Sculpture of Volume 2", the fleeting moments of life and death between inhalation and exhalation are captured like photographs, framing the pieces of life in a moment.
"The Breath Pouch" series consists of works that were researched and created during the COVID-19 pandemic. Featuring rounded pouch units that evoke the idea of a pocket containing breath, this series creates a totem for our return to everyday life by cherishing the warm essence of breath within the pouch-shaped units.
" Breath Series: Balanced" series is the most recent work. This series seeks the most daring and significant transformation in appearance. The changes in color and form are remarkable in the Balanced series, as it reflects the evolution of the container that holds breath.

I believe that the shape of invisible breath is manifested according to the appearance of the vessel I create, much like the shape of breath contained in a balloon... and this symbolizes life. Ultimately, the "Balanced series" depicts a new vessel for holding breath that is derived from the specific forms of the body and its internal organs.


Yoonjung Choi. Ring: Balanced #116, 2024. Plastic 3D printing. 4.5 x 3.5 x 4 cm. From series: Breath Series


How do you feel your art has grown winning the Grand Award of Romanian Jewelry Week 2024?

The "Breath Series: Balanced," which won an award at the Romania Jewelry Week, aims to combine the physiological elements of the human body artistically, valuing it as a symbolic artistic work of life rather than merely a piece of jewelry. This work conveys a profound message centered around life, existence, and balance, serving as a catalyst for the evolution of the pieces representing breath that can be worn on the body into new forms.


Jewelry design often balances between aesthetics and wearability. How do you approach the challenge of creating sculptural pieces that are also practical for people to wear?

All the breath jewelry is produced as organic shapes created using plastic through 3D printing. The 3D printing technique was explored and implemented as a methodology to create a light and sturdy volume of breath in the preparatory process to visually represent it. Consequently, this choice freely expresses the conceptual images of life and breath along with their weight and flexible volume.

In the past, I worked on metal object jewelry by disassembling and recombining existing forms to create new structures. Considering my experiences at that time, the round and bulging forms of the breath pieces had a somewhat unfavorable aspect regarding the weight derived from their volume in terms of wearability. Taking this into account, I chose materials that would be lightweight, sturdy, and advantageous for the variable three-dimensional expression of breath.

The shapes of the breath pieces created in this way possess translucent and delicate textures, with a fragile exterior that resembles glass. Through the change in materials, I have achieved a rich volume in the work while maintaining the artist's intent alongside lightweight wearability.

Yoonjung Choi. Brooch: Balanced #110, 2024. Sterling silver, plastic 3D printing. 9.4 x 12.4 x 4 cm. From series: Breath Series.



What’s next for you in terms of creative exploration? Are there any new themes or concepts you're interested in incorporating into your future collections?

I will continue to develop the "Balanced Series" until the year after next. I will create a transformed series that studies changes in form and utilizes the symmetrical structures of the body. While I do not have specific plans for my future collection, my research will focus on the structures of living beings that have repeating patterns.



With such a rich body of work already behind you, what do you hope people take away from your jewelry in the years to come? What legacy do you hope to leave through your art?

These are not easy questions. I have not thought very far into the future. However, I hope that my work and creations will continue to evolve steadily in my life. I am just an ordinary person living a very typical life. Sometimes, creation is very difficult, and at other times, the process of making brings me happiness. I pray that all of this becomes a part of my daily life.
I hope that the entire process of creation and craftsmanship continues to be as consistent as my everyday life. And I also hope that one day my work will be able to prove my existence.




Romanian Jewelry Week 2024 was an incredible event, bringing together 230 jewelry designers from 40 countries and welcoming over 5000 visitors.
As the organizers look ahead to the next edition, they are pleased to announce that pre-registrations for #ROJW2025 designers and collectives are now open. Those interested can sign up to stay informed about the application process HERE.

About the Interviewee

Yoonjung Choi is a contemporary jewelry artist based in Seoul, Republic of Korea. She graduated from Metal Craft and Design at Hongik University with a Ph.D program completion, Master's and Bachelor's degrees. Her work expresses the moment when life swells around with breathing and stops for a while with restrained symbols. Which means it shows the history of life - eternity and moment, life and extinction, existence and absence - beginning from invisible breath.

About the author

Alexandra Bujenita is the PR manager of Romanian Jewelry Week team, Art developer of Creative team of Imbold Cultural Foundation, PR account at Hello Menthol.