The “Tree of Hope” was born in my solo exhibition at the Gana Art Center in the summer of 2007. I got the idea from the traditional Korean custom of tying prayers and messages to the limbs of trees. Many little villages have this kind of tree that they use to focus prayers and wishes for the future. At first I used it as a way for people to write comments on the exhibition, but it quickly evolved into something that more than 2,000 people participated in. They all wanted to write messages, and then people began to put a grain of rice or barley in with the tied up message. I cut more than 100 yards of fabric in order to make enough message strips! |
