Phantom Mode: Lee Seung Ae, Ham Jin, Hoh Woo Jung
Chapter II is pleased to announce ‘Phantom Mode’, a group exhibition of works by three artists selected for the 3rd Chapter II Residency, from 13th June to 20th July in Yeonnam-dong, Seoul. The three artists, Lee Seung Ae, Ham Jin, and Hoh Woo Jung, have established their own distinctive practice by concentrating on each different genre—drawing and video, sculpture and painting. This exhibition will provide an opportunity to appreciate a wide range of previous investigation of the artists and anticipate their future development.
‘Interval’ is not only an ordinary term but also a crucial element in the context of art ‘Form’. This ‘interval’ is discovered in the three artists’ practice in diverse modes. Instead of comparing it with a pause of movements or unproductive situations(Null), it is reasonable to interpret ‘interval’ as an inevitable stage for sophisticatedly constructing a variety of events and significations, like a blank connecting separate sounds.
Lee Seung Ae has produced videos conveying consecutive traces of numerous drawings which appear on a single sheet of paper. In order to achieve a narrative transition within a maximal expanse of visual perception, movements of standstill subjects must maintain appropriate intervals in their shifts to allow viewers to infer their next move. The successive occurrence of these time-critical movements plays a role of a certain force offering the static figures a dynamic effect and a narrative structure. As the ideal frame frequency is 24fps (frame per second) in terms of cinematic techniques, Lee’s intervals accepted by human cognition are a fundamental prerequisite in a brutal circumstance of creation where a piece of artwork completely relies on independent activities of an artist.
‘Lamp’ (2017) displayed in this exhibition still shares Lee’s previous formats, and it also shows a dramatic direction and a subtle depiction of light and falling blossoms. Beginning with a scene of a ‘On’ switch-mode of a lamp, the work implies that the mechanism starts an irreversible journey yet it still possesses a sense of time through falling flowers embroidered on a lampshade. The movement of the switch not only reminds of that the process is triggered by external force, but also manifests an unchangeable cycle of nature as a foundation of physical principles in company with the video’s dramatic ending.
Ham Jin’s practice suggests coexistence of horror and admiration which draws attention of spectators. Ham’s tiny sculptures visually similar to living creatures are manifestation of his long-term research and experiments, and they are messengers representing the artist who attempts to communicate with the outer world. The dimensional symbolism of these miniature figures under 10cm is notable. Hence, their external features consequently ease obscure anxiety and caution we generally encounter against unidentified objects. For example, the greater blue-ringed octopus is a deadly poisonous tropical marine organism whose size does not exceed 10cm. The octopuses have emerged on the internal coasts due to global warming. They are often mentioned in the media when holiday seasons are approaching, as their small size and colourful appearance can easily weaken people’s discernment.
While Ham’s sculptures are far smaller than a human body’s typical scale which operates as a standard of judging every object, they ultimately evolve into a target of interest due to intervals of human’s imperfect perception that situates somewhere in-between horror and admiration mentioned above. In addition, they attain a status as an organism that might exist elsewhere only the artist knows. Especially, it is intriguing that he explores sculptural automatism originated from his imagination and spontaneous craftsmanship by describing unnaturally expanded shapes of particular objects.
Hoh Woo Jung has represented a balance precariously accomplished by accordance of multiple geometric shapes and objects, by capturing discrepancy between heterogeneity and everyday-ness involved in philosophical and ambiguous sentences composed of abstract words. His images including cohabitation of instability and tension, and of imbalance and equilibrium, are a device delivering anxiety, hollowness, desolation contemporary people frequently come across in a form of painting. For his recent works, Hoh builds configuration by adopting only lines and curves instead of detailed shapes of objects; unexpectedly, his extreme simplicity increases concentration and effectively highlights dynamics of the objects.
Hoh’s intended intervals among images and a rich diversity of shape’s sizes enable a canvas comprised of lines, curves and geometrical figures to gain a sense of movement. The motion is embodied in moves and bustling chatter of small assemblages that freely float and gather together depending on their demands. Above all, every sensitively calculated composition of each image is not just an arbitrary cluster of weak thin lines on a white canvas, yet it rather generates an original hue occupying the entire plane by performing each different chroma decided by its given angle and direction as Wassily Kandinsky insisted.
