Breathing Soil is an installation piece that examines the question: “Through burials of sound, how might the preserved memories and identities of those that pass, be shifted deep within nature?”

The idea originated from the artist’s experience of hearing his grandmother’s last breaths through a life support machine. It was developed based on the artist’s belief in the concept of reincarnation, which is embedded within his cultural background.

Through the act of burying, the artist reinterprets mourning rituals in which objects or memories of the deceased are returned to the land and he attempts to connect the past (the recorded sounds), the present (the act of burial), and the future (what may emerge).
Three recorded sound materials of his grandmother are incorporated into the installation: breathing (6:44), talking (4:48), and singing (3:36). During the exhibition, these sounds continuously play within the soil, allowing the piece to function as a time-based sculpture where the metamorphosis of mourning is in motion.