Inspired by the striking similarity between the words bokja and the Korean bojagi, both meaning wrapping cloths and the bundles they create, we asked “How do things travel?”
First, we explored the Korean folktale of the Magpie Bridge, in which two lovers, a shepherd boy and weaver maiden, neglect their duties and thus are forbidden to see each other. To help them, a flock of magpies forms a bridge in the sky and they are finally able to meet. We took this story
further, imagining the lovers living in lands far apart, crossing the Silk Road below as they walked across the celestial Magpie Bridge above.
We imagined what sorts of things travelled with these lovers as they crossed the magpie bridge. Perhaps jars of spices, a sheep or two, a flower in the hair or as a gift, stories of faraway lands, textiles collected along the way, and a guardian tiger to protect the journey.
And of course, there are the magpies themselves, endearing for their reputation for stealing shiny things. In our prints, the magpies carry their trinkets, piling up all the jewels they collect.
So how do things travel? Through stories, through textiles, through a magpie eye for collecting, through gifts, through love, and through imagination. In this spirit, this collection is a love letter to Korea, to Lebanon, and to everything in between.