Open/Close Toolbox
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 New Zealand License
Format: Image
Linked To
CollectionImageImage
Copyright
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 New Zealand LicenseThis licence allows you to download this work and share it with others as long as you mention us and link back to us, but you cannot change it in any way or use it commercially.
Menu
Steven Junil Park 박준일, The Soil Addresses Us As One, 2025
Expand/collapse
Description
TitleThe Soil Addresses Us As One, 2025 
DescriptionSteven Junil Park 박준일 (Korean)
Indigo stalk vases, linen flax, dried indigo leaves, indigo leaf beads, hand embroidered vintage gloves, linseeds, 2024–2025
The objects on display made by Steven Junil Park are the product of his experimentation with the materials from Gina Russell’s harvest. They show the respect he has for the care, resources and whenua that has allowed these plants to grow.
The dyeing process used on these gloves blends Gina’s fresh Japanese indigo leaves with ice-cold water to extract a light blue colour. Inspired by the plant that dyed the gloves, Steven embroidered the flowering indigo plant on the gloves, with indigo seeds embroidered in the palms.
When Steven first experimented with extracting pigment from the Japanese indigo, the ‘waste products’ of the process were at odds with Steven’s appreciation of these plants as precious. To honour the whole plant and the value of its ‘waste’, Steven mixed the indigo leaf pulp with flour to make beads and used the indigo stalks to create functional baskets. Dried indigo leaves and Gina’s dried linen stalks fill the baskets. Sitting on the shelf under the gloves is a hand carved bowl containing the linseed from this linen flax.
In these works, the whole plant and their products are cherished and respected as are the nutrients from the soil and Gina’s effort and energy to nurture them.
The video artwork, Stories from the Soil, shows these crops growing in Gina’s Lincoln farm and process videos of Steven using fresh indigo dye and processing linen to make twine.
DateMay 2025 - February 2026PhotographerSam Towse
DescriptionSteven Junil Park 박준일 (Korean) Indigo stalk vases, linen flax, dried indigo leaves, indigo leaf beads, hand embroidered vintage gloves, linseeds, 2024–2025
The objects on display made by Steven Junil Park are the product of his experimentation with the materials from Gina Russell’s harvest. They show the respect he has for the care, resources and whenua that has allowed these plants to grow.
The dyeing process used on these gloves blends Gina’s fresh Japanese indigo leaves with ice-cold water to extract a light blue colour. Inspired by the plant that dyed the gloves, Steven embroidered the flowering indigo plant on the gloves, with indigo seeds embroidered in the palms.
When Steven first experimented with extracting pigment from the Japanese indigo, the ‘waste products’ of the process were at odds with Steven’s appreciation of these plants as precious. To honour the whole plant and the value of its ‘waste’, Steven mixed the indigo leaf pulp with flour to make beads and used the indigo stalks to create functional baskets. Dried indigo leaves and Gina’s dried linen stalks fill the baskets. Sitting on the shelf under the gloves is a hand carved bowl containing the linseed from this linen flax.
In these works, the whole plant and their products are cherished and respected as are the nutrients from the soil and Gina’s effort and energy to nurture them.
The video artwork, Stories from the Soil, shows these crops growing in Gina’s Lincoln farm and process videos of Steven using fresh indigo dye and processing linen to make twine.
DateMay 2025 - February 2026PhotographerSam TowseConnections
Subject (Keywords)ArtCollectionTe Ara Ātea Exhibition 2025: Close-KnitTe Ara ĀteaArt at Te Ara ĀteaImageSteven Junil Park, Gina Russell, Christine Brimer and Georgina May Young, The Soil Addresses Us As One, 2025Steven Junil Park 박준일, The Soil Addresses Us As One, 2025 Georgina May Young, Ara Manawa, 2025 Christine Brimer, The Ways of Water, 2025Gina Russell, Growing Textiles, 2025
CollectionTe Ara Ātea Exhibition 2025: Close-KnitTe Ara ĀteaArt at Te Ara ĀteaImageSteven Junil Park, Gina Russell, Christine Brimer and Georgina May Young, The Soil Addresses Us As One, 2025Steven Junil Park 박준일, The Soil Addresses Us As One, 2025 Georgina May Young, Ara Manawa, 2025 Christine Brimer, The Ways of Water, 2025Gina Russell, Growing Textiles, 2025Attribution
Written ByErin Lee
Click on the image to add
a tag or press ESC to cancel
a tag or press ESC to cancel
Steven Junil Park 박준일, The Soil Addresses Us As One, 2025 (May 2025 - February 2026). Selwyn Stories, accessed 26/05/2026, https://selwynstories.selwynlibraries.co.nz/nodes/view/6988