Lydia SooJin Park
Light exists universally, yet the sunlight embraced by a specific time and space carries an entirely different density of energy. Encountering nature under the intense and vivid sun of Mexico awakened a power of vitality that felt both familiar and strangely new.
From January to March 2026, Lydia SooJin participated in the Ceramica Suro residency in Mexico, generously supported by Norwegian Crafts and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (UD). The sculptures and wall-hanging ceramic paintings created during these two months reflect a philosophical contemplation on the laws of nature and an observation of the organic elements that sustain our ecosystem. These findings manifest in the newly evolved series, My Deepest Blue, and That Which Breathes With Us (comprising 1. Grounding: Earth and 2. Breathing: Green)
The sculptural works presented in this residency showcase the artist's distinct and ongoing practice of layering clay. This act of building up the material through thin layers goes beyond mere form-making; it is a metaphorical process of visualizing the accumulation of time and memory.
Additionally, the 'Wall-hanging Ceramic Paintings' take the form of ceramic collages that transcend the limitations of a flat surface. This represents an intimate attempt to capture ephemeral, intangible memories through tactile, physical volume.
On the surface, the iconic flora of Mexico and fragments of intuitive inspiration come together to form a new landscape—inviting viewers to connect it with their own personal memories.
Art extends beyond personal aesthetic appreciation; it functions as a social medium that enriches collective sensibility and opens subtle pathways for healing. Contemplating the cultural legacy left for future generations remains a core pillar that sustains Lydia SooJin’s practice.
This philosophy was directly manifested in a permanent commission public art project for the newly constructed adult psychiatric wing at Akershus University Hospital (AHUS) in Norway, which officially opened in 2026. Developed in close collaboration from the initial stages of architectural construction, the project designated 'physical and psychological safety' as its core mandate, deeply reflecting the site-specific conditions of a psychiatric facility.
Facing this sensitive environment, the artist deeply immersed herself in the perspectives of everyone who would encounter the space—the patients, the visitors, and the clinicians and staff who come to work here every day. Focusing on their relational experiences and modes of perception, she spent countless hours weighing every possibility to find a shared, warm visual language that could resonate universally, ultimately conceiving the ceramic tile project under the evocative theme, Take a Break If You Are Too Tired.
To instill a universal sense of grounding and positive energy, the work meticulously calibrates the visual language by intersecting countless interior perspectives. From the hospital’s exterior entrance and the grand staircase wall connecting the first two floors of the main hall, to the structural pillars within the patients' dining area, Lydia SooJin’s ceramic tile installations unfold in an organic dialogue with the architectural context, reconfiguring the experience of the space.
From March 28 to April 18, 2026, the group exhibition One Thousand and One Islands (organized by Northing x Hiro Hiro Art Space) in Taiwan showed Lydia SooJin’s evolving practice rooted in ceramic media.
Investigating the infinite textural and chromatic possibilities of ceramics and glazes, the work translates these qualities into lyrical, painterly abstractions. Series such as <When the Sky Breathes, the Water Listens>, <Observation, Meditation, and Repetition>, and <When All Has Passed, What Remains Is Warmth> delicately manifest internal contemplation on the material surface. Alongside these pieces, the artist utilizes porcelain ceramic painting to articulate compelling social narratives experienced through the fading ceramic industries of unfamiliar territories.
Central to this narrative is <Temporal Expansion>, a work created by refiring ceramic fragments and industrial debris collected from the historic Porsgrunn Porcelain Factory in Norway. Contradicting the hyper-accelerated, petroleum-centric modern system, the installation foregrounds the slow, inherent temporality of ceramics. By embedding time, labor, and the memory of place within the material, the work invites viewers to reflect on what values should be remembered and sustained in an era defined by speed and consumption.
Opening October 17, 2025, the solo exhibition Un-Earthed, Un-Veiling at Northing Space in Bergen, Norway, explored the tactile presence of clay, bringing together a diverse body of work that spanned installation, video, ceramic painting, and sculpture.
An accompanying interview with gallery director Ben Yoo offered a profound opportunity to reflect on the 'layering' technique that serves as the backbone of the ceramic work. The dialogue illuminated this technique not merely as a concrete method or formation, but as an essential approach and a core metaphor guiding the entire practice. The exchange fostered a deep discourse on how complex emotions—both fragmentarily and comprehensively—are embedded into artistic labor and craftsmanship, turning raw feeling into physical volume. It stands as a meaningful and intimate record, tracing how a distinct cultural background continues to inform and give life to the ongoing artistic practice.
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During a month-long residency at Seven Stones in California, shortly after harvest, she created ceramic works on site in the Valley, drawing inspiration from the vineyard landscape. Observing subtle shifts in light and color—green, brown, and deep purple—Park abstractly reinterpreted vine trunks, leaves, and fruit, reflecting the balance between human intention and natural rhythm.
Her ceramic surfaces were developed through multiple high-temperature firings, including layered glazes and a final firing incorporating gold, evoking the warmth and abundance of St. Helena’s sunlight. Grounded in the concept of “legacy,” the work reflects the accumulated time, care, and unseen effort embedded within the land itself. Rather than capturing a single moment, Park’s process embraces patience and restraint, responding to gravity, climate, and material conditions of Napa, and offering a meditation on the enduring relationship between nature, human presence, and time.
Supported by the Youngmin International Artist Residency Grant from The Hanwha Foundation of Culture (KR).
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