Jong Suk Yoon - Clothes that Shoot me
There is something strange about the clothes that used to wrap around someone's flesh and attached to the skin escape and sneak out and exist on their own. The clothes has sunken like phantom with their bulk and volume lost. They are wrinkled and folded and carelessly spread out and being hung on the wall and clothes hanger while lifelessly drooping. We can think of someone's body at the moment we see clothes. We imagine about the smell of the flesh, perspiration, respiration and heart beat of the person who was the owner of the clothes as well as the traces of the time and space the owner shared with the clothes. Clothes are the phantom that substitutes him/her and close to a spirit. In addition, clothes self-exist by freeing themselves from the body. At the same time, clothes are the image with color, pattern, texture and brand and things to be seen. Various visual elements that cover the skin of clothes testify the identify of the clothes and their own lives. Clothes are the place at which the vanity of humans who seek to distinguish oneself from others remain as well as where the desire of affirming one's own unique value intervenes. The object called clothes are filled with virtual or fabricated image rather than being actual articles. That is the means for distinction. In other words, clothes are powerful products that realistically stimulate senses and entice. In that sense, the patterns and symbols that cover the clothes are the phantom of actuality. Clothes simulate the virtual existence on the trace of actuality called body in the place of the flesh. Now, clothes become the subject by replacing the body and the surface of the clothes is read like texts. Clothes self-ignite. They chatter. The object becomes the subject. Clothes let down too many metaphors like a shadow.
Clothes are basically inorganic matters, in other words, not living things. On the other hand, the body inside the clothes is an organic matter and alive. One day, Jong Suk Yoon blankly stared at the clothes that were taken off. The clothes that were taken off and randomly thrown down to the floor approached him with certain shapes. The clothes reminded him of certain sense of existence themselves. The clothes that immediately lose their shapes once they leave human body are like the death of clothes, and a certain kind of shape was given to the clothes that are considered dead by fumbling with and folding them. Accordingly, clothes are reincarnated by imitating certain objects and matters. Thus, they have become the clothes that self-possess body without existing from being connected to someone's body.
In addition, these clothes are related with finding the traces of his father who passed away during his childhood. One day, he saw dodok thorn grass attached to his clothes after visiting his father's grave. Afterwards, that clothes became the medium that always reminded him of the existence of father and the locality of grave. Whenever he thinks about that clothes and dodok thorn grass, his deceased, absent father flickers before his eyes. The memory of his father who passed away too early flickers and it will completely disappear from his memory if he does not remember it by himself. Humans disappear through the biological death but become deceased completely when no one remembers them on this earth. The deceased are called and summoned to the current time still as someone remembers them. That's why he is dead but become the existence that is still alive. But he will disappear as the complete absence if no one remembers him. That's why we tenaciously reminisce and recollect the dead. Such is a ritual like event that resists eternal life and immorality. That is to win over and extend the time and cut off or delay the heated flow of time within my consciousness. Jong Suk Yoon remembers his father through clothes in such ways. That is to remember the traces of his father and still save the existence of father. My father is absent when I don't remember him! Since the father's body is now lost, his grave, grasses that cover his grave, dodok thorn grass that came from there or the clothes on which they are attached replaces him now. One of the best ways to remember people is to save or preserve their clothes and mementoes they left behind. It is to think about them.
Jong Suk Yoon dialogues with clothes and turn into shape the things associated with the clothes and the things the clothes tell by listening to them. He treats the matter called clothes like living creatures. What is called animistic reason takes into effect. It is to draw out another existence hidden inside clothes. In addition, how the thing called clothes are disguising the human body and what kind of statements are made by them on the body are explored. He creates the head of beasts, handgun and star while folding and touching clothes. He treats the existing clothes in sculpting like manner. And he reproduces this in dots. He draws meticulously like in the manner of counting each strand of fabric. He 'weaves' the clothes with watercolor/dots.
The clothes that were considered dead reincarnate upon being granted with new life. It's the moment in which inorganic matter becomes organic matter and the clothes that were dependent on human body were given self-existing lives without human body. The clothes now become self-igniting existences. If clothes were dependent on the flesh, the work of Jong Suk Yoon shows the clothes that exist without the flesh. The clothes that had lived upon human body end up voluntarily revealing certain shapes associated with the symbols given on the clothes by freeing themselves from them. In such ways, clothes become various living creatures by becoming alive on their own or transform into everyday life objects. It is like the clothes becoming gun, face of beast, flowerpot, bag or star. One encounters the moment of instantaneous wonderment through it.
The artist collects and selects various clothes. He pays attention to the patterns, colors, texts and symbols on the clothes. Clothes are appealing things to see. They are exhibited on the body. While paying attention to the symbolic attributes of clothes that emit certain meanings, other objects are thought and dreamt of naturally through the traces engraves on the clothes. He dreams with clothes. Then he creates with clothes other existences that are thought of accordingly. Afterwards, he draws them once again through paintings. 'Ready-made' becomes sculpture and it becomes drawings once again. Solid become sculptural objet and it becomes the subject matter of painting once again. An object becomes sculpture and the sculpture returns to painting. He draws the shapes found on clothes through the arrangement of dots on the plane screen. To him, dot is also "the unit of minimal expression as well as the bodily product of paranoiac gesture with body that does not include any superfluity". dot is dotted and shot with syringe, and shape is created and shown through the accumulation of the individual dots discharged in such way. The dots that maintained density are condensed precisely on their predetermined locations. In fact, concrete existence is absent. However, individual dots simply testify their locations. They are merely the traces of the embossed dots with certain heights on flat surface. The protruding lumpy dots create and show tactile embossed sculpture as they spread throughout the screen like a rash. It arouses the allurement of wanting to feel with hands. At the same time, these dots turn the image into abstract form. When certain distance and time are maintained from the screen, the countless small dots appear as clothes as well as the head of beast, star, handgun, etc. When zoomed in to the screen once again, the shape immediately disappears and it is only filled with dots. That plays between dot and shape. A strange amusement of being this and that according to the time and distance is provided. And the irony of everything returning back to dots ultimately occurs simultaneously as well as being the reproduction of concrete object. He repeats dotting and shooting of dots that appear somewhat reckless. It appears to be also a sort of ritual of resisting to the time. He earnestly repeats the pure value of hard labor.
“I dot all day long. I'm learning the value of labor rather than doing artistic activity. And I'm learning the truth.” (artist's note)
He reveals in shapes the images associated with certain clothes. Clothes are already revealing something through colors, textures and patterns and in the arrangement of various images. Clothes are hieroglyphics. For example, the military uniform or training uniform filled with camouflage patterns is in the shape of handgun. It is so because the uniform reminds one of power, strength and violence. In such way, clothes naturally uplift certain kinds of shapes associated with the image of the clothes in mechanical manner. The artist naturally pushes forward such natural association effect. The clothes on which the symbols that symbolize superman and spiderman are engraved and the clothes on which the portrait of Marilyn Monroe is engraved tak of the form of star. They were the true heroes of our time and mythical existences. O the other hand, women'. O the decorated with brilliannrolower patterns and colors tak ofn the form of the head of animals. A beast symbolizes instinct and desire. The clothes with brilliant flower patterns transform into the head of dog, lion, pig or sheep. The 'beast-like' desire hidden in the clothes rears its head. It barks. The uniform of soccer players also takes in the form of handgun. The uniforms of the players from the World Cup winning countries form the shape of handgun. It is like the image association of from offense, shooting and charge towards the goal. The clothes/images he painted/printed tend to be aimed and shot at us or bark at us. They form aggressively inflated and chilling suspense. These soft clothes that are lifeless are aiming toward me. Scary!
