Published : Feb. 25, 2018 - 16:10
Ilmin Museum of Art is examining different aspects of neoliberal society through “IMA Picks,” a project that comprises research-based artworks by artists in their 30s and 40s who have made significant achievements at home and abroad for more than 10 years.
As part of this year’s project, Kim A-young, Lee Moon-joo, and Jung Yoon-suk are presenting solo exhibitions that showcase their ways of interpreting different phenomena embedded in neoliberal society.
Kim A-young’s “Porosity Valley” (IMA)
Kim’s exhibition “Porosity Valley” delves into the issues of sociocultural migration and deformation. It centers on a narrative of the protagonist Petra Genetrix, an imaginary underground mineral resource that attempts to migrate to another underground rock platform following an unexpected explosion.
By reconstructing images, texts and videos from geology research in Australia that she joined, Kim tries to create “speculative fiction” full of loopholes in order to represent the uprooting that is ongoing throughout the globe, including migration issues.
The rearrangement of information in a network via data mining or data transfer is also a matter of migration in another respect, constructing an ecosystem of big data, Kim said.
The protagonist Petra Genetrix, "Prosity Valley" by Kim A-young /IMA
“Instead of having a seamless plot for the narrative, I decided to create holes for the narrative to spark the imagination of viewers,” Kim said. “I plan on pushing the narrative forward later on.”
Kim initially majored in visual design but later studied photography and fine arts in England.
She held solo exhibitions at the Palais de Tokyo in 2016 and the 2017 Melbourne Festival. She also took part in the 56th Venice Biennale in 2015.
Meanwhile, the collection of works by Lee aims to discover the mechanism of urban planning.
Through some 30 drawings and paintings based on scenes of social ruins she observed in Seoul, Detroit, Boston, and Berlin in the mid-1990s, Lee attempts to point out problems associated with the constant repetition of demolition and renewal of urban spaces. Through her own montage technique -- juxtaposing different painting styles or sometimes picture-like imageries -- Lee attempts to capture the layers of a redevelopment process.
“Passerby III” by Lee Moon-joo (IMA)
Lee began showing in Korea through solo exhibitions at the Kumho Museum of Art in 2005. Lee also participated in artist-in-residence programs at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Residency Changdong, Kunstlerhaus Bethanien in Berlin, and Nanji Art Studio.
Visual artist and film director Jung’s “Lash” focuses on developing narratives related to social and political issues of the past 10 years, exploring questions that are rather introspective: “What’s human? Why do humans want to replicate themselves?” Jung said.
“Lash” by Jung Yoon-suk (IMA)
“Lash” by Jung Yoon-suk (IMA)
The exhibition comprises a 35-minute video of the same title filmed at a mannequin factory and a sex doll factory, as well as pictures and an installation of actual mannequin heads. The two-channel video installation provides footage of the doll-making process, which seems bizarre and grotesque but nonetheless real. Through the stark contrast between humans polishing the dolls’ human-like features, Jung provides viewers with opportunities to contemplate on humanity.
The solo exhibitions will run through April 29.
Shim Woo-hyun (ws@heraldcorp.com)