Possible, Between and Together (2019)

Wave Hill, New York, NY

Acrylic, canvas threads, fiberglass, glue, paper origami and distilled water, approx. 60x40x150 inches, 2019

This work reflects an early exploration of how collective memory accumulates across bodies and materials, using durable acrylic forms that hold the appearance of fragility—a question that continues to shape my practice.

Curatorial Text
Eileen Jeng Lynch, Curator of Visual Arts at Wave Hill

The installation explores Bae’s Korean background through themes of history, borders, peace, and hope. It draws on the cultural landscape of Jeju Island, where yellow yuchae (canola) flowers bloom each spring. Jeju is also known for its semi-matriarchal traditions, shaped by the labor and legacy of women divers, standing in contrast to the predominantly patriarchal structure of mainland Korea.

At the center of the work, a wishing well memorializes the 2014 Sewol Ferry Disaster, in which a ferry carrying 433 passengers—many of them high school students traveling from Incheon to Jeju—capsized. Of the 325 students on board, 299 lost their lives. In the aftermath, yellow ribbons emerged as a symbol of remembrance, hope, and collective mourning.

While the dominant yellow in Bae’s installation evokes warmth and vitality, it is also charged with unease—an emotional duality rooted in memory. The accumulation of yellow flowers suggests an ongoing layering of experience, reflecting the artist’s negotiation of distance and disconnection between Korea and the United States.