Stillness in Motion bamboo sculpture by Olga Ziemska, Hanbat Arboretum, Daejeon, South Korea
Stillness in Motion
Olga Ziemska · “Stillness in motion: The Matka Series #2”, bamboo sculpture, Project Daejeon 2012: Energy · Hanbat Arboretum, Daejeon, South Korea
Photo as published on Street Art Utopia; photographer not named. Street Art Utopia captioned it as the willow piece in Orońsko, Poland, but the bamboo figure on a lawn is the artist’s 2012 Korean edition (see The facts). Photos of this edition were published by Ignant (credited © Olga Ziemska) and Design You Trust
Olga Ziemska built this figure from bamboo in 2012 for Project Daejeon 2012: Energy, an exhibition of the Daejeon Museum of Art; the museum lists her in the outdoor in-situ art section at Hanbat Arboretum. It is the second piece in her series “Stillness in motion: The Matka Series”, in which she makes a female figure from local trees wherever she works. The photo is often credited to her first Matka in Orońsko, Poland, which was made of willow and stood indoors in a chapel gallery.
5 things to know
- Korea, not PolandThe figure in the photo is bamboo and stands on a lawn. The first Matka, in Orońsko, was willow, and Sculpture magazine described it in the Chapel Gallery: “The massive tangle of tendril ends stretched into the expanse of the Chapel Gallery at the Center of Polish Sculpture in Oronsko.” The artist’s own photos of that piece show it indoors, between arched windows. CAN Journal: “During Ziemska’s 2002 Fulbright Fellowship in Poland, the Matka was made of willow twigs; when she went to South Korea in 2012, it was bamboo.” Highlike / Sculpture · artist’s shop · CAN Journal
- Made for a museum show in a parkThe artist’s page says it was “Commissioned by Daejeon Museum of Art as part of the outdoor exhibition Project Daejeon 2012: Energy.” The museum’s own record lists Olga Ziemska under “Insitu Art Project / Hanbat Arboretum”, and dates the exhibition 19 September to 18 November 2012. artist (archived) · DMA
- Built during a residencyAccording to the same page, the piece was “Made during a one month residency at YATOO International Artist in Residence program in Wongol, Korea.” Her CV lists the 2012 YATOO residency. artist (archived) · CV
- “Matka” means motherIn the series, the artist uses “locally harvested trees that grow native to an area to create a female figure in different countries all around the world. The word “matka” in Polish means mother”. Her archived page numbers this one “#2”; the Orońsko piece is “#1”. artist #2 · artist #1
- Meant to fadeCAN Journal says of her organic works: “She usually let the leaves and branches deteriorate over their natural lifetimes.” We found no source saying what happened to the Daejeon figure after the show. CAN Journal
Check-in guide
- 📍
- Hanbat Arboretum, an urban park and arboretum in Seo District, Daejeon, with an East and a West Garden (Wikipedia). The museum lists the 2012 in-situ art project at Hanbat Arboretum (DMA); HelloDD says that project was held in the arboretum’s East and West Gardens and along the Gapcheon (HelloDD).
- 🧭
- The Maps button points to Wikipedia’s point for the whole arboretum. We found no source for the exact spot where the figure stood.
- ⏳
- Do not expect to find it. It was made for an exhibition that ended on 18 November 2012, and we found no later sighting.
Sightings
- 201219 Sep
Museum record: show opens
- 201220 Sep
HelloDD on the show
- 201218 Nov
Museum record: show ends
- 201315 Feb
Ignant: artist’s photos
- 202630 Apr
In SAU “When Nature Become Art”
- 20267 Oct
In SAU “40 of the Most Loved Photos”
Every stamp links to the dated source. All stamps are amber: they are records and reports, not dated photos. The museum record gives the exhibition dates; HelloDD reported the opening but does not name Ziemska. Ignant published the artist’s photos of the bamboo figure in February 2013, without a place or a date for the photos. We found no dated photo of the figure and no later report, so the stamp says “Seen 2012”.
On the record
Stillness in motion: The Matka Series #2
“Commissioned by Daejeon Museum of Art as part of the outdoor exhibition Project Daejeon 2012: Energy. Made during a one month residency at YATOO International Artist in Residence program in Wongol, Korea.”
The artist’s own project page, saved by the Internet Archive. It gives the year 2012 and the materials “Bamboo, wire, metal armature”.
Project Daejeon 2012 “Energy”
“Venue Daejeon Museum of Art, Hanbat Arboretum, EXPO Science Park Hanbit Tower, and Daeheungdong area”
The museum’s history of its science-and-art exhibitions (open the 2012 tab). For 2012 it gives the dates 19 September to 18 November 2012 and lists Olga Ziemska among the artists of the “Insitu Art Project / Hanbat Arboretum”.
과학과 예술의 어울림 ‘프로젝트 대전 2012’
“한밭수목원(동관, 서관) 및 갑천 일대에서 열리는 현장미술 프로젝트에서는 각기 다른 문화권에서 참가한 작가들이 한국의 자연환경과 문화를 매개로 자연, 생태, 환경 등의 문제를 작가들이 각자의 컨셉을 가지고 현장에서 직접 작품을 제작 설치하게 된다.”
“In the in-situ art project held in Hanbat Arboretum (East and West Gardens) and along the Gapcheon, artists from different cultures, each with their own concept, will make and install works directly on site, using Korea’s natural environment and culture to address questions of nature, ecology and the environment.” Daejeon science news site; the article does not name Ziemska.
A Brain Grows in Tremont: Public works of sculptor Olga Ziemska
“During Ziemska’s 2002 Fulbright Fellowship in Poland, the Matka was made of willow twigs; when she went to South Korea in 2012, it was bamboo.”
Cleveland arts magazine profile of the artist.
The Superb ‘Stillness in Motion’ Sculpture by Olga Ziemska
“To date, the artist has installed several of these sculptures in various places including: The Centre of Polish Sculpture in Oronsko, Poland; The Daejeon Museum of Art in South Korea; and even an art festival in Romania.”
The post shows photos of the bamboo figure on a lawn, along with photos of the other editions.
The facts
- Artist
- Olga Ziemska (artist’s page, archived, DMA, CAN Journal, Design You Trust, Ignant) Checked
- Title
- “Stillness in motion: The Matka Series #2” on the artist’s archived page; her CV lists it as “Stillness in Motion: Matka Series” (artist’s page, archived, CV) Checked
- Made
- 2012 (artist’s page, archived, CV, CAN Journal) Checked
- Commissioner
- Daejeon Museum of Art, for the outdoor exhibition Project Daejeon 2012: Energy (artist’s page, archived, CV, DMA) Checked
- Place
- Hanbat Arboretum, Daejeon: the museum lists Ziemska in the exhibition’s “Insitu Art Project / Hanbat Arboretum” (DMA). Design You Trust and Room + Wild give the place as the Daejeon Museum of Art (Design You Trust, Room + Wild) Checked
- Exact spot
- Not known. HelloDD says the in-situ project used the arboretum’s East and West Gardens and the Gapcheon area; no source we found says where in the park the figure stood (HelloDD) Unconfirmed
- Material
- “Bamboo, wire, metal armature” (artist’s page, archived); bamboo also per CAN Journal and Room + Wild (CAN Journal, Room + Wild) Checked
- Residency
- Made during a one-month residency at YATOO International Artist in Residence program in Wongol, Korea (artist’s page, archived, CV) Reported
- Which piece
- Street Art Utopia captioned this photo as the 2002 willow sculpture at the Centre of Polish Sculpture in Orońsko. We lean to the 2012 Korean edition: the figure in the photo is hollow bamboo on a lawn, matching the artist’s and Design You Trust’s photos of the Korean piece, while the Orońsko willow figure stood indoors in the Chapel Gallery (Street Art Utopia, artist’s shop, Highlike / Sculpture, Design You Trust, Ignant) Conflicting
- Series no. 1
- The first Matka, in Orońsko, is dated 2002 on the artist’s current site, but “#1 2003” on her archived page; Sculpture magazine reviewed it in December 2003 (artist’s shop, artist’s page, archived, Highlike / Sculpture) Conflicting
- Status
- Seen 2012. The newest dated record is the exhibition’s closing date, 18 November 2012. We found no later sighting and no report of removal; CAN Journal says the artist usually let organic works deteriorate (DMA, CAN Journal) Unconfirmed
Related
- On Street Art Utopia: 40 of the Most Loved Photos on Street Art Utopia Right Now (7 October 2026), where the photo above appeared as work no. 2, and the earlier When Nature Become Art (24 Photos) (30 April 2026). Both caption it as the Orońsko piece.
- The first Matka, the willow figure in the Chapel Gallery at the Centre of Polish Sculpture, Orońsko, with the artist’s photos. olgaziemska.com
- The artist’s photos of the bamboo figure in Korea, published in 2013. Ignant
All sources (12)
This work
- Olga Ziemska: “Stillness in motion: The Matka Series #2”, the artist’s project page, archived 6 January 2015. 2012; bamboo, wire, metal armature; commissioned by Daejeon Museum of Art for Project Daejeon 2012: Energy; one-month YATOO residency in Wongol.
- Olga Ziemska: CV, the artist’s site, undated. “2012 Stillness in Motion: Matka Series, Project Daejeon: Energy, Daejeon Museum of Art, South Korea”; 2012 YATOO residency.
- Daejeon Museum of Art: Daejeon Art and Science Biennale, the museum’s history page (open the 2012 tab), undated. Project Daejeon 2012 “Energy”, 19 September to 18 November 2012; Olga Ziemska in the “Insitu Art Project / Hanbat Arboretum”.
- CAN Journal: “A Brain Grows in Tremont”, 22 November 2014. Willow Matka in Poland, bamboo Matka in South Korea in 2012; organic works left to deteriorate.
- Design You Trust: “The Superb ‘Stillness in Motion’ Sculpture by Olga Ziemska”, 12 November 2020. Lists Orońsko, the Daejeon Museum of Art and a festival in Romania; photos of the bamboo figure outdoors.
- Ignant: “Stillness in Motion”, 15 February 2013, by Caroline Kurze. Artist’s photos (“All images © Olga Ziemska”), including the bamboo figure on a lawn; no place or year.
- Room + Wild: “Land Art: Olga Ziemska”, 3 August 2023. Interview; a caption gives “locally reclaimed bamboo, metal, Daejeon Museum of Art, Daejeon, South Korea”, but it sits under a photo of the indoor Orońsko piece.
The exhibition and the place
- HelloDD: “과학과 예술의 어울림 ‘프로젝트 대전 2012’”, 20 September 2012. Exhibition dates; in-situ art project in Hanbat Arboretum (East and West Gardens) and the Gapcheon area. Does not name Ziemska.
- Wikipedia: “Daejeon Hanbat Arboretum”. Park description; coordinates 36.36917, 127.38806 (used for the Maps button).
The Orońsko piece (Matka #1)
- Olga Ziemska: “Stillness in Motion” limited edition print, the artist’s shop, undated. Created in 2002 at the Center of Polish Sculpture; locally reclaimed willow; first work in the series. The source Street Art Utopia cited.
- Olga Ziemska: “Stillness in motion”, the artist’s page, archived 9 April 2014. “The Matka Series #1 2003”; willow branches and wire; Chapel Gallery, Centre of Polish Sculpture, Orońsko.
- Highlike: “Olga Ziemska”, undated reprint of Stephanie Bowman’s review in Sculpture magazine, December 2003. The willow figure in the Chapel Gallery at Orońsko; Fulbright residency 2002–2003.
Artwork File · Last checked 8 October 2026 · Certainty labels follow How We Verify Art · All Artwork Files