Resonance of the Abyss: Melody of the Plum Blossom

This work is part of a series titled Three Chickens Moved by Music. My intent is to create a visual dialogue where one painting responds to another—a “call and response” across canvases. Here, the white chicken is caught in a moment of deep emotional surrender, listening to a melody (perhaps played by the blue chicken in a companion piece) that shakes the very core of its being.
As I developed these characters, I realized that while they all hear the same music, each experiences it through a different emotional lens. I’ve symbolized these internal landscapes through the objects they hold. In this piece, the chicken cradles a branch of Plum Blossoms (Maewha). In the Eastern tradition of the Four Gentlemen, the plum blossom is the first to bloom at winter’s end, enduring snow and bitter cold. To me, it represents “the spirit that has passed through solitude.” Through this, I wanted to express the way music helps us endure the “internal winter” of our souls.