REBIRTH THROUGH METAMORPHOSIS

We are reborn through the change within us, through what we create and through the change we bring into this world. Park is a perfectionist by nature, and finds herself in the process of continuous change and perfecting her artistic abilities. As a result of this and many years of challenging her imagination, she found herself working with fish bones as a new way of self-expression.

FishBone Art is a completely original art form that Park developed on her own in 1994 while living in her native country, the Republic of Moldova. She began making two-dimensional fishbone compositions which over time evolved into three-dimensional works; a unique beauty you may not have seen before or even imagined possible. To create this type of decorative art, Park uses naturally curved and shaped bones from various types of fish. 

Using different types of fishbones allows her to create beautiful scenes of flowers, birds, animals, landscape, and sea life, that come from intuition and inspiration. Each work seems to offer the fish a new life in an unexpected way. And yet, it is hard for some to believe that the material for these exquisite paintings is an ordinary fish with scales, eyes and bones. 

The preparation of the fish bones is a long and arduous process, beginning with boiling the fish, continuing with washing, brushing, drying under certain conditions and ending with preserving them. Park strives to choose and work with the natural form of the bones, without modifying them; similar to finding and putting together preformed puzzle pieces to create the final picture. In a puzzle you follow the pre made image. In her FishBone Art she follows the form, size, and shape of the bones. This is a very difficult way to create beauty, one that is challenging, yet interesting and requires patience. Most of the work is by hand, and rarely the use of simple tools such as scissors, a small hammer and a nail file, which would be used just to bring the bones to the perfect shape. Pearl nail polish or acrylic helps preserve the fish parts, tweezers and glue make them stick to the velvet as-needed so the art can endure the ages. The natural tones and colors of the bones against the black or dark colored velvet background provide contrast and bring each scene to life.

During preparation, Park readily visualizes the image of the work that will be created with the specific fish type and specific bone. A medical doctor by training, her knowledge of anatomy and physiology helps her choose and orient the specific bones to best represent the image she is creating. Her artistic experience, intuition and imagination brings the creation together. Preparation, visualization, fitting and placing the pieces together is a complex process. Depending on the amount of detail and complexity of the image, a piece of artwork can take anywhere from one week to a whole year to complete. Imagination plays a crucial role in this art form.

Through an active imagination we are constantly changing, creating a metamorphosis; a rebirth, just as the fish are through Park's FishBone Art.