Inzision

Inzision (Incision) is a series of five paper prints made during a journey to the 38th parallel in Korea.
Following World War II and the independence from Japanese occupation, Korea was divided into two supervised zones; the boundary was drawn along the exact course of the 38th parallel. Although the border between North and South Korea (DMZ) shifted after the Korean War, in Korea’s collective memory, the 38th parallel still signifies the tragedy of separation.
Along the former border, Jeewi Lee established ten equidistant topographic points, of which due to the shift of the border five happen to be in South Korea and five in North Korea. At the five locations in South Korea, she selected trees that met her criteria in terms of age and place and used the traditional Asian Takbon printing technique to create prints of the tree bark on Hanji paper. For Jeewi Lee, the artistic translation of the line in the form of these prints visualizes the ever-present scar in her native country.
In Lee's working process, the age of the trees were a relevant criterion, as she only selects trees that were fully grown before the division of the country in 1945. Naturally, trees cannot leave their place on their own. For Lee, they represent a living testimony that exemplifies the time of division since 1945. The prints from the trees can be understood as portraits or fingerprints of witnesses of the history.

A book has also been written about the work, in which her journey along the 38th parallel is recorded. Photographic documentations and personal project protocols of the production process in border areas, restricted military areas and formerly mined combat zones vividly reflect her intervention.

Text: Julia Meyer-Brehm

Special thanks to: Mischa Leinkauf