Unification (Ten-Panel Folding Screen)

by Young Yang Chung

Korean 1960s

489.0cm(w) x 215.3cm(l)

Rose of Sharon, the Korean national flower, begins to blossom in hot summer and keeps its beauty for long. The background is a Korean map showing the divide between the South and North illustrated with flowers in different colours. The pink flowers in the right represent North Korea, and the white flowers South Korea. A big tree trunk symbolises the artist’s wish for one unified Korea. The petals have been executed with a traditional stitch and with three types of thread twisted in different thicknesses. Thinner threads have been used for the central part of the flowers and thicker threads for the edges. To realistically depict the petals, the artist has used padding and then embroidered onto it. A special technique (textured threads), which embroiders in twist, was chosen to express the tough texture of the tree trunk. According to the artist, it takes two or three hours to make a one inch square.