I call this piece “Letterfly,” and it’s my visual poem exploring the enchanting connection between the written word and the delicate beauty of nature. My starting point was an open book – the familiar realm where letters form words and stories come alive.
From within its pages, I carefully crafted these wing-like structures using contrasting black paper. My intention was for them to evoke the ephemeral, transformative image of a butterfly, yet here, it’s a creature born directly from the essence of literature. The name “Letterfly,” which I hand-scripted on the small card, is a portmanteau I created to embody this very metamorphosis – the moment letters themselves seem to sprout wings and take flight into our imagination.
Choosing to present this in black and white was a deliberate artistic decision. I wanted to strip away any color distractions, thereby focusing the viewer’s attention purely on the sculptural form, the interplay of light and shadow, and the core concept. This gives it, I hope, a timeless and somewhat dreamlike quality. For me, “Letterfly” celebrates the profound lightness and transformative beauty that can emerge from language—the way ideas can lift off the page and truly soar.Choi Soo-min