PRECIOUS

A broken ceramic cup rests on fake luxury scarves—two symbols of worth, one discarded, the other pretending. What do we truly value?

This series explores the fragile relationship between materialism, identity, and perception. Products bought in Korean markets become artifacts of shifting value: a ceramic cup, once treasured, is now broken; a counterfeit scarf, mass-produced, still carries the illusion of wealth. The cup, with its deep ties to Korean history and craftsmanship, symbolizes wealth, memory, and the passage of time. In contrast, the scarf represents fleeting trends and manufactured status.

"You are what you wear" suggests that appearances define us—but do they? In a world where status is constructed and worth is measured in perception, we question what it means to be precious. Is it the object itself, its history, or the meaning we impose upon it? If one man’s garbage is another’s treasure, then perhaps worth is not fixed but fluid—fragile, like the things we hold onto.