Water·Fire·Wind·Heir
Water·Fire·Wind·Heir, ‘Water’, 2023, single channel documentary videos, color (An Chi-yong, a national intangible cultural heritage holder - Hanji)
Water·Fire·Wind·Heir, ‘Fire’, 2023, single channel documentary videos, color (Han Sang-mook, the sole possessor of the traditional ‘Songyeon’ meok-making technique-Meok)
Water·Fire·Wind·Heir, ‘Wind’, 2023, single channel documentary videos, color (Kim Yoon-kyung, a national intangible cultural heritage holder-Bow)
Water·Fire·Wind·Heir, ‘Fire’, 2023, single channel documentary videos, color (Han Sang-mook, the sole possessor of the traditional ‘Songyeon’ meok-making technique-Meok)
Water·Fire·Wind·Heir, ‘Wind’, 2023, single channel documentary videos, color (Kim Yoon-kyung, a national intangible cultural heritage holder-Bow)
Water·Fire·Wind·Heir, a collaborative piece by Lee Wan and three skilled National Intangible Cultural Heritage artisans—An Chi-yong, a Hanji (Korean traditional paper) Artisan; Han Sang-muk, a Meok (Korean traditional ink) Artisan; and Kim Yoon-gyeong, an Archery Artisan—juxtaposes the beginnings and endings of ‘information delivery technology’, prompting a range of thought-provoking questions.
In Lee Wan’s previous work series, Made In, Lee Wan focused on the colossal flow of globalization, the divisional system that operates like a factory within capitalism, the lives of individuals within this system, and the inevitability that dictates their choices. However, in Water·Fire·Wind·Heir, Lee Wan delves deeper, pinpointing the origins of paper, ink, and the bow not to nations or regions, but to more primal and fundamental elements: ‘water’, ‘fire’, and ‘wind’. Lee Wan aims to highlight the natural and cosmic laws that underlie all human-created systems, hierarchies, and orders, as well as the imbalances and human-centric outcomes precipitated by these hierarchies.
In Lee Wan’s previous work series, Made In, Lee Wan focused on the colossal flow of globalization, the divisional system that operates like a factory within capitalism, the lives of individuals within this system, and the inevitability that dictates their choices. However, in Water·Fire·Wind·Heir, Lee Wan delves deeper, pinpointing the origins of paper, ink, and the bow not to nations or regions, but to more primal and fundamental elements: ‘water’, ‘fire’, and ‘wind’. Lee Wan aims to highlight the natural and cosmic laws that underlie all human-created systems, hierarchies, and orders, as well as the imbalances and human-centric outcomes precipitated by these hierarchies.
The film captures the process of making a giant eight-meter-long sheet of hanji over the course of a month with An Chi-yong, a national intangible cultural heritage holder and hanji artisan. Lee Wan learns the method of making meok (Korean traditional ink) from Han Sang-mook, the sole possessor of the traditional ‘Songyeon’ meok-making technique in Korea and listens to stories about his life. Lee Wan visits Kim Yoon-kyung, another national intangible cultural heritage holder, to experience the process of making a Korean traditional bow and listens to the history of traditional archery, learning how the technology has been passed down without disappearing.
Water·Fire·Wind·Heir, ‘Water’, 2023, single channel documentary videos, color
(An Chi-yong, a national intangible cultural heritage holder - Hanji)
(An Chi-yong, a national intangible cultural heritage holder - Hanji)
