The world we live in seems clean-cut and simple at first glance, but that could not be further from the truth. While gravity, the Earth’s rotation, and other scientific facts are indisputable, we have always been vulnerable to unforeseen changes. Whether it be a natural disaster such as a tsunami, volcanic eruption or hurricane, or a human accident such as a stock market crash, shipwreck or random gunfire, we do not have the foresight to predict where and when such events might take place. Such chaos takes its toll on human networks without exception.
Catastrophic events are often triggered by a mundane incident. A driver who thoughtlessly slams the brakes can cause a massive traffic jam. A small change in atmosphere can bring about a terrible storm. Some believe life on Earth is simply the result of ‘water and atmosphere.’ It is not hard to find examples of a small action rippling through a network, consequently causing a phenomenon. Therefore, it is impossible to judge whether or not an incident is relevant until one knows its full consequences. British science writer and astrologist John Gribbin calls the simplicity hidden deep inside chaos “deep simplicity.”
Chaewon Kim creates her own virtual world in her given space, telling her version of the Genesis. Through this she initiates a search for ‘the essence.’ The artwork Kim showcases in this exhibition are the results of an investigation that is rooted in the abovementioned idea of ‘deep simplicity.’ The pieces resemble cumuli floating in space: They form the artist’s imaginary inner world that begins from a simple principle – but the world becomes chaotic and unpredictable with constant proliferation. The cloud-like objects are based on an octagonal shape with a stick running through them. The objects are slightly modified as they multiply, each becoming a shape of its own. The base components remain the same as well as the basic principles of extension, but the slight changes cause the end results to assume a different look.
The artist touches upon the essence of the universe as well as the continual order and disorder that accumulate within. Her installations are a combination of highly-recognizable objects. They are either scattered or piled up in a heap, reminding viewers of a dystopian future city. The nonlinear and repetitive assembly of objects quietly creeps over the wall, as if it were an unidentified organism. The elements, having lost their original purpose, become part of a dystopian world set in the future. It is as if the artist has glanced pessimistically at man’s longing for eternity. But at the same time Kim limits her materials to daily objects, breathing immortality into moments of life.
Utopia and dystopia, order and disorder coexist in Kim’s universe, or Kim’s ‘chaosmos.’ It is a world that operates according to a complex order that encompasses both discipline and the unconstrained. In this world, order and disorder are not polar opposites – they are complementary and even similar. This world may be rooted in order and principles, but it is transformed into a world ruled by coincidence and variables that gives birth to a new law within itself. As you can see, order and disorder merge together as they create a new ‘complex order.’ Tree bark grows and splits in two; each of these pieces splits in two again; and so the multiplication continues. French mathematician Benoit B. Mandelbrot defined a fractal as ‘a curve or a geometric figure, each part of which has the same statistical character as a whole.’ Kim’s works expand their space based on the rules of self-similarity and recursiveness. She explains that all the order and disorder in the universe exists under this structure.
We live in a complex world, a world based on orderly rules, the truth, and networks. But we cannot explain how this fact can affect us at all. That is because we exist in an eternal loop of order and complexity, as viewers can perceive in Chaewon Kim’s work.
*image (left)
© Alternative Space Loop
