Jongjin Park is a ceramic artist who lives and works in Guri, South Korea. He received his BFA in Ceramics from the Kookmin University, Seoul, and his MFA in Ceramics from the same university in 2009 and from the Cardiff Metropolitan University in Wales in 2014. His works have been exhibited nationally and internationally and are part of prestigious collections at institutions such as the Gyeonggi Ceramics Museum, Icheon World Ceramic EXPO Center, Cheongju International Craft Competition, among others. He is currently completing his PhD studies and is teaching at multiple universities in South Korea.
Visit Jongjin Park’s website and Instagram profile.
Featured work
Artistic Stratum, 2017-2020
Collapsed Form, 2016-2020
My work process started with experiments with materiality and combining different materials. It is very simple to layer paper with clay slip. Then, the dried clay and paper objects are fired at high temperatures. Because of the thin space between paper layering, it can be carved and cut with various electronic tools.
My practice explores the remarkable ability of ceramics to deceive the eye. By using tissue paper and clay slip, I can make various materials look like paper, but they become ceramics at the same time. These effects meet with simple shapes and structures, contrasting with porcelain. My practice asks us to think about what is real. At the same time, you experience another deception ‘how was it made?’ I always enjoy the audience reactions to my work.
The initial concept of my work is imitating materiality. A piece of ancient jewelry found at the National Museum of Wales had this simple technique. Clay has this capacity to mimic other materials.
Starting from these points, I explored paper, which is this mundane material that we use daily. Engaging with the capacity of paper to absorb and the various conditions of clay and slip, ceramics allowed me to find new techniques and materialities which I have never seen before.
