The Weight of Wings
It seems fortunate that wings were not given to human beings.
Human beings do not hope to have wings to fly. Angels, who have the appearance of human beings have wings. For human beings, the dream of wings is the thirst and longing for endless freedom.
In my childhood, I enjoyed flying kites on windy days. I flew the kites that I had made, up into the infinite blue sky, carrying my dream and vision. Then, I was beginning to escape into the endless journey of my life.
The wings of flying kite-birds were waking my sleeping soul.
As I grew older, I felt the wonder and mystery of nature preoccupying me, difficult to express. In the quiet of an early morning, watching birds flying by the lakeshore or in the park, I would realize the mysteriousness of nature; it was never “ordinary.”
How can I express the many mysterious harmonies occurring in nature, reflecting the relationship between nature and myself.
Nature makes me realize the meaning of my existence and offers me the wings of my dream to fly; it opens the gate to an unknown world.
Working with stone and metal, hard materials with which I am comfortable, offers me the challenge of an Alpine mountaineer. I cannot know the result. Will it be possible to express my feelings? But my endless inner pursuits of myself drives me towards uncertainty…
Repeatedly, I struggle, spreading my wings, towards the unknown world, not thinking about the final result. The result is a trace left; by the process. Wings of freedom, in the name of creation, I think about the weight of the wings. Wings that can lift heavy rocks: do wings have weight?
The answer may be the eternal quest because the wings do not exist for themselves. While the wings free me, I am not tired and I am winging constantly.
Yeon-Tak Chang, Spring 1996