Da eun Lim

Duration: January-April 2021

Da Eun plans to enter a new phase in her artwork through her experiences and communication while in New Harmony. She will explore the concept of “function” in her ceramic devices for life, which operate to prevent and contribute to embarrassing moments and pursue a sense of imagination that extends beyond the traditional paths of function to bring ironic joy and satisfaction to the viewer.

Some of the ceramic devices will include, a “mouth piece” that can cover your mouth in order to not spit nonsense, a “leg tie” that can tie your feet so as not to seem rude when you cross your legs, and a “fart storage” to keep the accidentally leaked fart from interrupting a conversation space.

 
 
 
 
 
 

quick facts

How many years have you been working as a clay artist? I’ve been working with clay for 8 years.

What is your main clay body that you currently use? I would say it's stoneware. Though, it doesn't mean that I stick to stoneware. I also like to slip-cast porcelain.

What is the primary method you use for building your work? I hand-build the most.

What is your favorite studio tool? It is hard to pick only one. Maybe a sharp knife and wet sponge. I love trimming with those two when clay is at bone dry state.

Do you have any future clay wishes or dreams? Opening my own studio in my hometown. I would be more than happy to have a studio near the beach. Beside that, I just wish clay to be with me for a long long time.

 
 

ARTIST STATEMENT

My work embraces the recollection of past moments of life. Some may lament over how their recollections fade, but bitter memories are often deeply ingrained. I can’t seem to forget a single thing in my life, like the death of beloved someone, a disgraceful blunder, or self-contempt in the doldrums. As a self-defense mechanism, I compulsively attempt to mentally divert stressful moments by trying to obliterate those poignant memories, yet despite my desires, they don’t disappear with my force of mind but linger in my subconscious where they hauntingly arise as a distasteful phantasmagoria that triggers angst.

Therefore, I employ physical objects to spit out these repugnant memories that crawl up from their concealed spaces. I confront the memories through tranquil and unnoticeable objects in everyday life. I force these objects to abandon their essential purpose and meaning, and I transform them into bizarre forms that encompasses everyday life's turmoil. I try to create novel meanings through these forms that refine a positive outlook to nurture every moment in life; however, I also anticipate the reintegration of ambivalence, uneasiness, and confusion at their initial encounter because they inherently embrace discomfort and agonizing moments of life.

 
 

BIOGRAPHY

BORN: Busan, South korea      

Da Eun Lim is a freelance artist and ceramics instructor based in Busan, South Korea. She graduated from Ewha Woman's University with a MFA in Ceramics in 2019 and a BFA in Ceramics in 2016 and has participated in various workshops including ones at Alfred University in Alfred, NY and Clayarch Gimhae Museuem in Gimhae, South Korea. She has taught at numerous locations in South Korea, including the Versi Art Museum, Ewha Woman’e University, and Two Hands Art Institute. Lim has exhibited her work globally in South Korea, Germany and Romania, and in 2019, she won the Young Artist Award in the Cluj Ceramic Biennale in Cluj-Napoca, Romania.

Lim's oeuvre comprises ceramic work that acknowledges repentance and distressing moments in life, of which painful reminiscence is represented with subtle objects from our everyday life. The objects serve as a means to reflect memories, break the established order and function, and lead to an uncanny metamorphosis that induces us to discover a new sense.