Eunseok Han

Bio

Eunseok Han is a jewelry artist based in Seoul, South Korea. She completed an MFA in metal craft at the Dongduck women's university in Seoul and she studied drawing at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in the USA. Eunseok is interested in the natural environment and has recently made small efforts to protect the environment by making jewelry out of recycled cans.

Statement

My work began with our daily life full of disposable items. The disposables we meet every day are considered as non-precious materials and are used only once then discarded. Generally, diamonds, gold, and silver are great materials of jewelry. On the other hand, disposable cans and plastics have been considered inadequate materials for jewelry. However, I thought we could make beautiful jewelry with non-precious materials, even with the discarded materials. This is why I started working with recycled cans, disposable materials.

Besides, disposable products are considered one of the main causes of environmental pollution. Because of them, the environment is polluted, the earth is warming, and the water temperature rises. As a result, many living things are threatened in their lives. Corals, for example, bleach due to pollution, and lose their beautiful colors. I used discarded cans to express the beautiful colors of coral that are gradually disappearing due to the pollution. I hope that both disposable cans and the corals, the main culprit and victim of environmental pollution, could stay alive with us for a long time. I also hope many people to think about the value of trivial objects and the importance of healthy industrialization through my work.

I make jewelry through the following process. Cut recycled cans, separate them by colors and letters, and paste them in a suitable shape and color combination to express the coral. In this process, the letters, trademarks, and colors on the recycled cans reflect our current culture and taste. Interestingly, our current culture and taste are captured in my work. Moreover, I use renewable plastic called PLA to connect the pieces of the can, which is my small effort to protect the environment.

I think people, including me, have a responsibility to protect the nature of the planet we live on. I will continue to make jewelry from discarded materials such as plastic or plastic bags as well as recycle cans. However, I want my work to be treated not just as a reused item, but as beautiful jewelry that everyone wants to wear. My work began with reviving discarded disposables, nonetheless, it will eventually save all of us. I wish not only the discarded disposables but also our precious nature and even ourselves to stay alive for a long time.

CV