The Cat-Attached Vessel Series is a contemporary reinterpretation of the formal characteristics found in figurine-decorated pottery from ancient Silla and Gaya. These historical vessels feature figures of people, animals, and everyday objects, offering insight into the lives, beliefs, and ideas about the afterlife held by people of that period. I was particularly interested in how the vessel and the attached figures come together to create narratives and symbolic meaning beyond simple decoration.

The works are created by attaching hand-modeled cat figures to wheel-thrown jars, bottles, and lidded vessels. In the earlier pieces, cats were placed on lids, appearing to watch over or guard the vessels below them. Later works expanded this relationship by positioning multiple figures around the shoulders and bodies of the vessels. The posture, gaze, scale, and placement of each cat create a distinct scene and atmosphere within every work.

In this series, the vessel is not merely a support for the figurative elements. It functions as a space that contains, protects, and holds a narrative. The cats decorate the surface while also appearing as beings that observe and guard the space around them. Through their familiar and everyday presence, I sought to combine the symbolic qualities of ancient figurines with a sense of simplicity, warmth, and gentle humor.

This series allowed me to move beyond painting two-dimensional images onto ceramic surfaces and explore a more sculptural relationship between figure and vessel. As the cats became increasingly connected to the structure of the vessels, the series established an important foundation for my later works, in which the vessel itself develops into the body of a guardian figure.