Mitate emerged from an early encounter with Korean ritual and traditions of mourning. This experience became a starting point for an ongoing exploration of cultural memory, identity and belonging, and of the ways in which traditions are carried across generations and between cultures.

The work draws on the Korean Salpuri dance — a prayer in motion in which movement, ritual and spirituality come together. Traditionally performed with a long scarf, its flowing movements and gestures express transitions between life, death and community.

In Mitate, these references are translated into a contemporary visual language. Two fans form the centre of the work: a white one associated with the East and a black-grey one with the West. A Prayer in Summer refers to the traditional fan dance and, in this interpretation, evokes a balance between contrasts: East and West, tradition and the present, ritual and everyday life.

Paper plays a central role, not only as a material but as a carrier of meaning. Each sheet is handmade specifically for the work, formed in a circular shape and pressed together in twelve layers, with a hand-forged silver frame embedded at the centre. The individual texture and tactile qualities of the paper make each piece unique.

The fragility and mutability of paper reflect themes that run through the work: memory, cultural transmission and the relationship between permanence and change. Through layers, traces and material transformation, Mitate explores how histories and connections can remain present while continually changing.

The objects invite an imagined ritual or movement, creating a space for contemplation. Mitate brings together personal and cultural references in a broader reflection on connection, exchange and continuity across East and West, past and present, tradition and contemporary practice.