After the Longest Night
A couple of fish represent conjugal love in old oriental paintings. Unfortunately, the situation in the poem has no connection to this so I created a couple of the fish on the Hanbok, unlike the symbol.
You can imagine her taking out the Kweja for someone numerous times whenever she misses that person. In addition to this, I would like to think the 동정 (“Dong Jeong,” the inner white collar of a Hanbok) is worn out as she often took out and touched the Hanbok.
Our emotions are often clouded when we have been missing someone for several years. It is common to have some uncertain feelings in regard to whether we really miss someone who leaves us behind. I tend to relate to this when I read “A Long Night of Winter Solstice,” a traditional Korean poem written by Hwang Jini (she was a Gisaeng, which were famous performers in Korea. Gisaengs were artists who danced, sang, played musical instruments, and wrote poetry. Gisaengs were also trained nurses who sometimes worked for the government. They were a unique and special class during the Joseon Dynasty. They usually worked in low-level government offices and engaged in many artistic activities, mainly for the nobility. To accomplish this, they needed to be trained as highly-skilled artists. Therefore, they were treated as educated persons. Hwang Jini was known for being the most talented and having great self-respect.) When I was a young schoolgirl, I learned this poem but was not impressed. However, I wondered how much she missed someone, considering the fact that she even made a poem created by this emotion. What comes to my mind following this was that she had been holding out with resentment until that someone came back to her. I cannot still be correct about her thoughts and feelings for that person but I have wished that she could leave behind her emotions of attachment which seem to last for a long time. For this reason, I came up with this image which has no person, but rather only a gift (Hanbok, traditional Korean clothing) for someone who left.
The Hanbok in the work of art is called 쾌자 (“Kweja”), a long vest type of traditional Korean clothing mainly for men. The Kweja was a dancers’ performance outfit as well as a military uniform during the Joseon Dynasty (1392 – 1910, last dynasty in Korea). Shamans also wore this clothing during the Joseon Dynasty when they performed exorcisms (it is currently used for the same purpose). However, the Kweja is currently seen mainly as a formal suit for men at weddings or special events.
Winter: it seems that nothing is there, lonesome, doom…
Tracks of someone who was doing something…
