
Celadon Janggu (Hourglass Drum): Inlaid Cloud-and-Crane Motif
This work belongs to those who understand inheritance not as repetition, but as the patient re-forming of knowledge through another material. "The drum waits in silence, while its celadon chambers already seem to hold the memory of sound." Kwon Ohak’s Korean celadon janggu occupies an unusual position between ceramic sculpture and performing instrument. Its hourglass body recalls one of Korea’s most recognisable percussion forms, yet the familiar wooden chamber has been replaced by fired clay. This substitution alters every stage of the work: how the body must be formed, how it survives the kiln, how its components are joined, and ultimately how sound is gathered and released. The composition begins with opposition. Two swelling chambers face one another across a narrow central waist, each volume held in balance by the tension of the cords that cross the body. The janggu is therefore understood not as a single mass, but as a relationship between paired forms. Expansion is answered by contraction; the openness of the drumheads is answered by the compressed middle; the visual softness of the glaze is held against the mechanical discipline of the bindings. This structure is especially
$27,000.00
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