Byun Jiwon
ENG
Temporary Garden, 2026
Stoneware clay, glaze, stainless steel, hand-building, 1250℃, 52 x 14 x 284cm.
Walking through the entrance of an old villa or down a back alley, one sometimes comes across a spot where several flowerpots, stands, sheets of metal, or a ladder have gathered together. It looks less like a carefully tended garden than a landscape formed by things simply left behind.
Byun Jiwon focuses on this ambiguous state, found in such alley scenes, between a carefully tended garden and a neglected space. In 《Temporary Garden》, the "ladder" stands at the center among these makeshift structures. Originally made for a specific purpose, the ladder here either supports the growth of plants or is simply left in place, becoming part of the scenery. Through this ladder—where the line between what has served its purpose and what is still in use has blurred—she shows a state in which care and neglect exist side by side.
Through the recurring image of these small, Temporary Garden, the work speaks to the traces left by someone's touch and the life that keeps growing within them regardless. She sees this scene as sometimes resembling our own lives—looking protected, yet ultimately having to grow on our own, wherever we happen to be. 《Temporary Garden》 shows how life continues even within an environment where care and neglect overlap.
