Suji Park: Noise Collector

I’m Korean but I’m not Korean. I am a New Zealander but I’m not a New Zealander. Am I in between? Am I a combination of things? I’ve realised its much bigger than that. Everyone is multidimensional.

In this new installation of exquisitely distorted clay-based sculpture, Suji Park’s abstracted heads froth and twist amongst bubbling tent-like forms, which drape from the ceiling with shimmering cords of light. Creating an unfamiliar world of visual noise for us to wander through, Park invites visitors to ponder how one’s sense of self shifts when moving to a new country.

Drawing on her practice as an accomplished piano player, artist and writer, Park explores the interconnections between language, place and creative expression. Going through a process of composing, firing, breaking and re-making—her final pieces symbolise her fragmented experiences of displacement and belonging.

Suji Park was born in South Korea and moved to Aotearoa New Zealand with her family when she was 12. She has an MFA at Elam School of Fine Arts, University of Auckland (2013) and was the McCahon House artist in residence (2015). She has exhibited across Aotearoa New Zealand and internationally. In 2016, Park returned to South Korea and in 2018, she began a Masters in Creative Writing from the Korea National University of Arts. In 2022, she completed a year long artist residency at Factory of Contemporary Arts in Palbok, Jeonju. Her installation, Meonji Soojibga | Dust Collector, is currently on display at Auckland Art Gallery’s Edmiston North Sculpture Terrace.

Read the exhibition catalogue here.