ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: Mejung Park
Still Life for Things that Need a Goodbye,
Mourning
MEJUNG PARK
May 2 – June 14, 2025
In Candela’s front gallery, Mejung Park is stealing hearts with piles of garbage.
The alluring compositions are part of Mourning, a subset of Still Life for Things that Need a Goodbye. In her photographic series, Park creates delicate arrangements of discarded items from around her home and pairs them with paper florals she’s cut from a cherished book of botanical illustrations.
There is a proficiency in color and material that can be clearly traced to Park’s background in fashion. Visual tension in the works are created through a contrast of textures, materials, and dimension: the bursting florals which bring life to perfectly teetering stacks of dying things are actually not alive at all; plastic bubbles are elevated among gathered tulle and Bojagi wrappings with the quiet intention of someone who’s been at this for a while – which is both true and not.
Park’s artistic trajectory is not uncommon, yet is hardly one that receives enough spotlight. After an education in the arts and a career in fashion, the artist took time to be a stay-at-home mother. After 50, she returned to making with a desire to pursue a new medium. Her resulting photographic practice has been folded thoughtfully into her reality; Park sets up all of her shots from home in Seoul, while continuing to be its primary caregiver.
Mejung Park, Still Life…#36. INQUIRE
Mejung Park, Still Life…#24. INQUIRE
Mejung Park, Still Life…#27. INQUIRE
Knowing this adds a depth to the work that goes beyond the simple act of memorialising everyday objects. With the context of its maker, the viewer can find distinct references to an identity closely woven into the fabric of the domestic space. Park has presented us with memorials to small household deaths while also creating self-portraits of a woman who cares deeply about the place in which she’s built her life.
The artist references Vanitas with soft palette subtlety and touches on overconsumption with an aesthetic that nears minimalism, luring in passersby and gently challenging their perception. Viewers who linger find they are rewarded as their viewing experience grows more complex. She does this all with pieces she’s built with her own two hands, without the wizardry of Photoshop, and without any collage technique. All 43 still life works in the Mourning series have been built and documented in-camera.
According to the artist, this series is finished. The sculptures remain, however, because she can’t quite bring herself to let go. She intends to make one final document of all of the arrangements together, and then she can say goodbye. As for the future, Park says she would like to make work that focuses on the experiences of others.
Select works from Still Life for Things that Need a Goodbye, Mourning will be on view at Candela Gallery through Saturday, June 14th.
