Giclée with satin brocade. 26” x 52”.
Spring fire festivals are held annually throughout South Korea. Generous helpings of food and drink are partaken. Locals don hanbok (traditional garb) and celebrate with drum circles, singing, and dancing. Visitors are invited to join in the fun.
At the Jeju Island, Jeongwol Daeboreum Fire Festival, wishes are written on strips of rice paper and then attached to a giant ball of hay at the base of an oreum (steep hill formed from volcanic outcroppings). At dusk, fireworks are set off above the hill, creating a wildfire to burn the old growth away and making rich soil for the spring’s new sprouts. The ball of wishes is set ablaze along with the grasses in order to scatter the writer’s intentions to the wind.