A companion piece and spiritual diptych to the Bear Woman (Begetting a Nation), the “Smoking Tiger” is a speculative exploration of the tiger who fled twenty days into the challenge of becoming a human being. Koreans, in lieu of saying “once upon a time,” use the phrase, “back when tigers smoked” to indicate an era of long gone legends.

As the etiological myth goes, both the Tiger and Bear were challenged to eat nothing but mugwort and garlic in a dark cave for a hundred days. Twenty days into the challenge, the Tiger fled, depicted as not having the perseverance to endure the suffering to become a Human. However, I believe she chose her own journey and chose to keep the form of a Tiger.

In my own rendition of the classical Korean hojakdo (Tiger, Magpie, Pinetree Painting), I replace the magpie with the East Texas Mockingbird and add additional Texas elements to the Tiger’s attire. In both the foreground and background, the Tiger’s shoes, jeogori (blouse), and chima (skirt) can be seen cast off in various positions, a direct nod to the Korean storytelling tradition of Tigers who dressed as humans (usually with deceptive intent).