Lee Soo Jin, Korea-Singapore
The tree in the southern land is big.
It grows much taller than in my home country.
When I saw the trees out of the taxi window from the airport,
first, I was surprised by their scale,
but soon, I was relieved by their big, green smiles,
soothing the reluctance of my move
from Korea to Singapore.
The tree in the southern land is generous.
Among the five elements in Ba Zi—
tree, fire, earth, metal, and water—
tree means generosity,
something I could not understand before.
My understanding ceased at the sacrifice of trees.
In Singapore, I first comprehended their generosity.
When the wind blows, it moves gently.
When the birds come, it holds out its arms and hairs.
It welcomes also the small insects.
It keeps being diligent with its own work,
bearing flowers and fruits.
Tree, you are comfort.
You are the greatest philosopher.
You remind me that you will live long and I will leave soon.
You are big and I am small.
Yet, you are kind to me.
Soo Jin Lee is an artist, independent curator, and writer. Currently, she is a PhD student at the School of Art, Design and Media at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. She obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Fine Art majoring in photography in Korea, and her Master’s degree in Art majoring in photography and media in Germany. She is interested in the relationship between text and image narrative, and her research topic is on the autobiographical narrative in contemporary visual arts.
