All Photos By Gail

Broken bowls and cups rarely invite a second glance. In the works of Korean artist Yeesookyung (b. 1963), ceramic shards are given new life, transformed into monstrous and imposing forms that resemble creatures from another planet as seen in her series of Translated Vases (2017–2024).

Sculpture Detail


Translated Vase_2019 TVCW 1

Growing up in Korea, Yee  often heard her mother refer to damaged vessels, like chipped rice bowls, as negative signs, akin to a woman’s loss of dignity once ‘broken like a porcelain dish.’

Translated Vase_2024 TVGW 1

The artist contends with these cultural ties between porcelain and women’s bodies by turning discarded remains into art. A technique of mending and repair using gold leaf is used to highlight rather than mask imperfections, sutures, and scars, the evidence of a life fully lived.

Translated Vase_2022 TVCSHW 1

Translated Vase_2022 TVCSHW 1 (Left) and Translated Vase2017 TVBGJW 1 Nine Dragons in Wonderland (Center Foreground)

Photographed at The Met as Part of the Exhibit Monstrous Beauty: A Feminist Revision of Chinoiserie