The Sculptor who loves Oamaru Stone: Jin Lee Why does her stone have such a warm feeling?

Jinseng of Korea, wine of France, Tulips of
Netherlands… there is a representative item for
the country, for New Zealand, it’s limestone
which is popular for construction materials,
such as cathedrals, banks, opera houses,
etc in Australia and New Zealand, nothing like
this type of stone can be found in Korea.
According to Jin, “I couldn’t help working with
the stone because falling in love with it.
” News post interviewed with Jin Lee in person.
Oamaru stone is not familiar to Koreans:
The geological name is limestone;
there are a few limestone quarries around the
world.
It’s usually name after region.
Jin lee uses New Zealand’s lime stone from Oamaru,
North Otago on the South Island of New Zealand.
Calciferous shells of marine animals and plants
formed limey seabed sediment. This sediment then
aged for over 40million years. The stone has an
infinite combination of color and texture.
That’s the reason why she fell in love with
this stone.
Jin lee specialized in Ceramic sculpture in
Hong-ik art university in Seoul, Korea.

“I had to learn every discipline of ceramic
art like sculpture, casting, and pottery,
after graduation I started working at an open
studio in a gallery as a full time potter
in Whagarei, New Zealand. I found making
ceramic sculpture in NZ difficult due to a
complex process and limited facilities.
I started to work with Oamaru stone by chance.
I was charmed by the beautiful color and
texture, especially the undeniable
warmth of the stone.

I had an art show because people seemed
to really like my sculptures.
The show was a great success, which gave me
the idea and the drive to open my own
sculpture studio specialized in only
Oamaru stone.”

She had set her goal in 1998, and she made
her dream come true by opening the
Solar Art Studio in Incheon in late 2007.
It’s meaningful to specialize in Oamaru
stone because the stone itself already
reflects the natural beauty and tendencies
of human beings as well as the fact that the
stone coincides with her interpretation of
beauty in this world. Since she found Oamaru
limestone, she had so much various other types
of projects, like Japanese restaurant interior
decoration, LG promotional party design project,
murals, and a number of others over the last
8years until finally becoming an Oamaru stone
sculptor.
“I can’t think any of other material because
of passion in Oamaru stone.
I put myself, my carrier, and my life into
this stone with my own unique design.
”Her gaze at the stone is so full of passion,
like lovers looking gazing into each other’s eyes.

She has had a few art exhibitions to share the
beauty of Oamaru stone in Korea, and plans to
have a very special art show in next year.
The art show is going to awake all other senses,
using audio –video systems as well as interactive
lighting systems conjointly with various
exhibited sculptures.
She wishes to have a show which has natural
beauty and tells a story.

After spending many years working overseas,
she felt the very hectic life style in
Korea and wanted to help people to feel nature
and more centering calmness through her artwork.

Another goal for Jin is to get more involved
with government works.
There is so much repetition of similar
patterns like circles, triangles, rectangles
or similar shapes all around Korean buildings
and parks.
She wishes to see more variety displayed in
Oamaru stone works which have a down to earth
character like a close neighbor.

“So often I think how it would be so cool to
see warm Oamaru stone sculptures when I walk
down the street. My ultimate goal is to
reinterpret the relationship between Korean
tradition, nature, and humanity.
” Then added because having a positive attitude
makes things more likely to happen,
“I hope that many foreigners will visit Korea
to see my sculptures in the future.
To make that happen, I have to reach my potential.”

News Post June,2009
Reporter Jaeun, Jung