Today I did some travelling (during which I noticed a curious South Korean phenomenon, the Tree Phone Tower.) First up, into a taxi – showing the driver my written destination (thanks Sally!), then bus trip to Suwon, where I managed to get off at the right stop, then use my Zen navigation skillz (yeah, using experiential wisdom – I didn’t have a map and only a vague idea that the university was ‘somewhere to the right’) to get to the main entrance of the nearby university where Sally was to pick me up.
That sorted, we headed to Insa-dong in Seoul for lunch, and after to catch up with local jeweller Woo Jin Soon, who guest lectures at Kookmin University and who kindly took me, and translator Sally, out for tea. I showed her my work which then precipitated a lively discussion about craft practice, and agreed that seeing really good shows, such as the Cheongju show, or Schmuck in Germany, “Just make you want to go back to your studio and work!”
Sally and I then headed out to see a show called In + Out = Flat by another local artist Kim Shin-Lyoung. It showcased a small yet dazzling array of works, all in 998, sterling and nickel-silver, the use of which allowed her to make married-metal pieces that were then patinated, to bring out precise lines of black and white. Technically very proficient, the works still exhibited a sense of life and play in their geometrically precise forms. The artist was hanging out in the gallery so she and I held a stilted conversation, through Sally, so that I could attempt to convey how impressive the works were.
Finally, we attempted to get to the Gyeongbokgung Palace before it closed to visitors for the day. We missed out by a good minute… So we stood in the forecourt and had out picture taken by a fellow tourist instead!
