Saekdong Obangsaek: Cut From The Same Cloths, Installation at Bowling Green, OH, 2023
DELANEY MESUN SHIN
Multidisciplinary Fine Artist
Delaney Hanging Saekdong Obangsaek: Cut From the Same Cloths
Paper is an essential element within my artwork. The summer I was nine, my sister and I visited my Asian grandparents in Washington for a week. We filled the days by cooking traditional Korean dishes such as bulgogi, japchae, and jjajangmyeon, along with countless hours of memorizing the different origami patterns taught by my grandmother. Sitting next to my sister at the kitchen table, we patiently waited for my grandmother. Not knowing what to expect to see her bring out, she began to lay across the table brightly colored square shapes of paper. My natural inclination was to look for a pen, marker, or pencil to show her my drawing skills. However, she clicked her tongue and handed my sister and me each a square piece of paper. This was my first introduction to origami. I would ask her to show me the mountain and valley folds again and again as I followed along with my own paper, repeating the folding patterns she quickly made. Her fingers would move with grace and confidence and without hesitation. I quickly rehearsed the folds, learning them by heart, and by the end of the week, I had memorized how to create the crane, star box, boat, fish, hat, and balloon, each from a single sheet of paper.