Jihyun Jung pays special attention to an individual’s psychological state and immediate reaction to unfathomable events and unique situations that unexpectedly happen in the daily life. Based on this observation, he associates to his own experiences being situated in similar events, which then lead to collecting, combining, and recording found objects around him.
In this exhibition, Jihyun Jung presents new sculptures and drawings that are created by deconstructing his previous works that were showcased in a number of group exhibitions in Korea and reassembling them with found objects he gathered during his residency in New York.
Through the sequence of being assembled, dismantled, and constructed by the artist’s hands, the fragments of objects from unknown origin are given new meaning and vitality. Electric signals given by the artist sporadically allow these found objects to move in a certain direction, creating intimate but irregular relationships between them.
To comprehend the rhythm and the narrative of the relationship between objects, a viewer need to spend a sufficient amount of time in the exhibition space.
Background Drawing is an outcome of his attempt to create an individual environment from unfamiliar society unrelated to the artist by spending time in certain ways.
Through the windows of his studio in New York, he could see through the window of somebody else he did not know, yet so close. In his new environment, he could see through everything in the day, but he would see those windows reflecting his studio at night.
The view from his studio where he created 54 drawings every night is projected to the exhibition space as a backdrop. At the front is a quarantined area created by window frames, dust layer, fence, and metal. Found objects on the table interconnect with each other through their individual shape, light, sound, and movement.
The video projection on handmade window is a CCTV surveilling an ocean which its original purpose is for tourists to view the area but is brought into the exhibition space. The smoke created from the fog machine in front of this video projection makes it even more illusionary. Behind the window is a half-covered black object called Night Walker. It is a device that moves slowly to write in the night sky. Twelve searchlights are turned on and off to write a sentence in the air, which is only visible through long exposure photography.
Jihyun Jung (b. 1986) received his B.F.A. and M.F.A. from Korea National University of Arts. He has held solo exhibitions at Sindoh Art Space (2014, Seoul, Korea), Insa Art Space (2013, Seoul, Korea), Project Space SARUBIA (2011, Seoul, Korea) and Gallery Skape (2010, Seoul, Korea). He has also participated in group exhibitions at Seoul Museum of Art (2014, Seoul, Korea), PLATEAU Samsung Museum of Art (2014, Seoul, Korea), DOOSAN Gallery Seoul/New York (2013/2014, Seoul, Korea/New York, NY, U.S.A.), Cais Gallery (2012, Seoul, Korea), and KT&G Sangsang Madang (2010, Seoul, Korea).
