The Aesthetics of Mountain & Earth

산흙미학 | 山土美學 

As a Korean-born artist based in Singapore, my practice centers on the quiet, enduring presence of nature — the forces that shape, contain, and regenerate life. I call this philosophy Sann-Heuk Mihak (산흙미학), or “the aesthetics of mountain-earth.” It is a personal visual cosmology informed by East Asian ideas of stillness, energy, and transformation.

In an age defined by noise, speed, and constant performance, I turn to silence—not as escape, but as resistance.

My Mountain Series:SANN  series is a quiet rebellion. It reflects my inner landscape as an immigrant woman and a non-native speaker who grew up navigating life between languages, between countries, and often, between expectations.Growing up under emotional suppression and conditional love, silence became my survival. In adulthood, it evolved into language—a way of processing, resisting, and reclaimingThrough meditative, repetitive layering of oil paints  and vertical patterns, I build each mountain slowly and laboriously, compressing time and memory into surface. The warm earth tones ground me in stillness, while subtle ridges suggest the invisible movements of endurance.

These are not landscapes. They are portraits of psychological terrain—formed by quiet strength, delayed expression, and the dignity of holding back.In a hyper-connected world obsessed with spectacle, I propose slowness, stillness, and softness as radical acts.

The mountain does not move, but it endures.

My Earth Series:HEULG focuses on hanji  paper — a humble, traditional yellow paper once used to line Korean homes. In 2022, I began working with this overlooked material in a new way, transforming it into textured, glowing surfaces that evoke soil, memory, and ritual. After encountering my works in Seoul, art journalist Park Hyo Sung coined the term Jangpanhwa (장판화), meaning “works created through jangpan paper.” While I did not name the genre myself, it originated from my approach and continues to evolve through my practice. traditional yellow paper once used to line Korean homes. 

I consider each Jangpanhwa piece a return: tree to pulp, pulp to paper, paper to earth. What grows, returns. These works are not meant to be read — but felt. Through surface, texture, and quiet vibration, they invite a different kind of attention — one that listens.

Together, my oil-based Mountain Series and paper-based Earth Series form two poles of one inquiry — into how nature moves silently through us, and how art can make that presence perceptible.