For me, ceramic teacups, bowls and dishes seem to share similarities with us. They contain food and their origin was from soil which has similar components of all living things. In addition, their shapes remind me of the mouths of mysterious living things.
The table setting, tea ceremony and eating have somewhat ritual formats, whether it is for God or man. The violence or sacrifice inflicted on each other for taking something could be always justified and accepted for the benefits in the middle of hunting ground or battlefield?
In Korean culture, eating well has been one of the most important ceremonies in one’s life. Even one of the most common Korean salutations is ‘did you have a meal?’ that means ‘how are you?’. In the funeral ceremony, Korean people fill a mouth of the dead body with rice to wish for eating well in the afterlife.
153 Mouths(2022) shows both the partial and holistic harmony like cells in the body, mourning death and celebrating the survival of all living things.
Medium
Ceramic
Size (h x w)
400 x 120 centimetres
Price
Total - £2,000. Individual £15.
