The metaphorical meaning of a bridge lies in connecting two separate worlds, whereas the bridge work in The Hwanggeumsan Project seeks to create a metonymic object that connects two worlds by means of calling attention to the historical tragedy of the Seongam juvenile reformatory through today’s art at the creation center. The children running away
from the reformatory were stuck in the tideland and lost their lives in the rising tide. Perhaps what they most desperately needed, as they were gasping for air in the water rising up to their chins, may have been a bridge which could get them off the island. I would like to propose the creation of a Transcendence Bridge that will guide the young children, who were facing death in captivity, to the sky. For those who visit in the present, this bridge will be one that traces back to the historically charged salt field beyond the violently waving reed field and it will take their hands to carry them upward, transcending time and space.
By combining very common 3.6m long wooden materials, I built a simple yet smart 50m long bridge without using complicated tools, techniques, excessive labor force, or pricey materials.
The Transcendence Bridge is not for a body to cross. The reason behind building this ironical bridge that is only for beholding is to be connected to a human heart. When walking into the waving reeds and the flames of the sunset, the visitor’s mind goes into the land under their feet beyond time, into the moment when the children were dying. The flaming wind that shakes the reeds will comb their hair, and the soul that takes the hand lightly flies into the air to rescue their bodies from the mud. Physical space and psychological space echo and cross each other in this way.