Unseen, 2025

I'm honored to be part of "UNSEEN," a powerful exhibition supporting women's rights in North Korea. Open September 19-27 at Lume Studios, 393 Broadway, NYC, the show features 14 artists who will invite viewers to rethink visibility, justice and solidarity through the lens of those who were never meant to be seen. This is the first art exhibition on this topic to be held in the United States.

Click here to watch a video about Princess Bari, my piece for Unseen.















Princess Bari is my reimagining of a Korean myth about a girl who was cast away for being born a girl but ultimately becomes a goddess. She descends into the realm of the dead to retrieve the water of life and revives the very family that once rejected her. Her story of exile, endurance, and transformation is a myth in which sorrow turns into strength, echoing my hopes for North Korean women.

The figure wears a traditional Korean hanbok, a two-piece garment I constructed from taffeta consisting of a chima, a high-waisted, full skirt, and a jeogori, a short jacket or top. The garments are white - the traditional Korean color of mourning - to signal ancestral loss and ritual passage. Yet my princess is no ghost; she has defied death, emerging from the underworld as a survivor and leader to inspire those still struggling.

The chima is hand-embellished with hundreds of century-old French silk millinery flowers (some still with their original sales tags) I’ve been collecting for years; these symbolize the enduring beauty, strength and inherent worth of all women, regardless of the trials they have endured.

On her head is a phoenix, burnished gold, defiant, and a symbol of rebirth. The gold tin flowers and leaves date from the late 19th century and were used in Catholic ecclesiastical settings in continental Europe (a sly nod to my former connection to that faith.) In her outstretched hand are vintage chandelier crystals, meant to represent the water of life. 

Princess Bari honors the unseen women of North Korea—those whose lives are marked by sacrifice, silence, and staggering resilience. Like Princess Bari, they have been cast aside but can never be erased.
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