The Forgiveness Feast
The Forgiveness Feast is a tentative title for a children's book I wrote and illustrated for my MFA thesis work.
The presentation was a comprehensive, visual, and auditory experience of the world in the storybook. The animation of the natural environment highlights the flora and fauna of the west coast countryside of Korea where I spent a few summers at my maternal grandmother’s house which is the setting of the story. I pair it with an auditory track that evokes my childhood memories of that landscape. The mural is a nod to the process of the initial sketches and line drawings that have set the foundation for my final sketches and completed spreads.
This book celebrates the two rituals that I cherish from my childhood: the ritual of bedtime stories and the rituals that surround food. With the emphasis in the story on food and the inclusion of my mother’s dumpling recipe, I link the two family rituals that take place within the family space of the bedroom and the kitchen.
The traditional practice of passing down stories and recipes orally results in numerous versions of stories and recipes. While growing up, we learned stories by repetition, and recipes by tasting. These repetitions are acts of service, the love language of Korean culture.
However, as multigenerational households dwindle, stories and recipes with familial imprints being passed down through traditional means are becoming increasingly difficult. The translation and transcription of the story and recipe in both written and visual forms help preserve these traditions in contemporary society.
