譚婧
2025
Ul-hyang, mugwort, pine tree wood, agarwood, sandalwood, benzoin, frankincense, cinnamon bark, anise star
National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul
A Rustling is an evolving work developed during Tan Jing’s residency at MMCA Korea. In this piece, Tan explores scent not as a nostalgic trace, but as a contagious and volatile force, one that activates repressed emotions and silenced memories. Drawing from Korean shamanic and folk practices, she has been researching locally used olfactory materials, seeing them as both ritual instruments for communion with the divine and potent carriers of emotional transmission, self-revelation, and collective healing.
The incense used in this work is made from crushed botanical ingredients inspired by traditional recipes, including mugwort, pine, 울향 (Ul-hyang), agarwood, and star anise, among others. These are shaped into delicate, leaf-like forms that burn slowly throughout the exhibition. Ephemeral and fragile, these leaves are easily swept away yet continually return, serving as both material and metaphor for what is habitually erased yet persistently present.
A Rustling reflects on solitary inner landscapes and unvoiced emotional tension, particularly within East Asian societies shaped by patriarchal structures and affective restraint. The burning leaves act as sensory conduits and quiet offerings, inviting viewers to attune to their own submerged grief and unresolved dissonance.
Installation shot, MMCA Residency 2025, National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul
Documentation of Open Studio, MMCA Residency 2025, National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul