Embroidery on silk canvas, mounted on steel supports
Chandeliers for Five Cities is comprised of five works of embroidery paintings, which began in 2008 when the artist discovered a North Korean propaganda leaflet in front of her house. Ham began to think about how she could communicate in a similar way, sending a message back across the arbitrary line between North and South.
The embroideries are manufactured by North Korean textile workers and returned through a circuitous route to the artist in South Korea. In this way, Ham is able to not only establish communication with the isolated country, but also show the stark differences and massive economic gaps between the North and South. The grandiose chandeliers illustrate political power, serving as mute witnesses to the moment when Korea became an embattled spoil caught between superpowers. Hanging perilously askew, the images remind us at once of colonial collapse and the persistent ideological conflicts that remain. The artist’s intent is to evoke the people living within the divided history; each stitch is a testament to an individual laborer
《Chandeliers for Five Cities》由五幅刺繡畫組成，這作品系列源於藝術家於
2008 年，在家門前發現一張北韓宣傳單張。Ham 自此思考自己如何能用類似
的方法，來把她的訊息穿越北韓與南韓之間的邊界。
這幾幅刺繡作品由北韓的紡織工人製作，並經歷迂迴旅程回到了身處南韓的
藝術家手中。透過這種方式，藝術家不僅建立了與北韓這個封閉國家之間的
聯繫，也展現了北韓與南韓之間鮮明的區別與巨大的經濟差距。華美的吊燈
說明了政治權力，也默默地見證了韓國身處超級大國之間四面楚歌的時刻。
作品被歪斜地懸掛，這畫面立刻喚醒了我們殖民的瓦解和尚存的意識形態衝
突。藝術家意圖喚起生活在這一分裂歷史中的人民的共鳴 ── 一針一線都
是每個工人的見證。
