Aedong is the title of a work by IM, as well as the title of this exhibition. The video has a simple and repetitive structure: the image of the Chotdaebawi Rock [a candlestick-shaped rock] in Donghae-si – the representative sunrise spot in Korea – is zoomed in and out every 3 minutes for the duration of 30 minutes. Since repetition is the structure that generates belief in IM’s work, many of the subject matters reappear in the works that can be seen and heard in the exhibition space. In this exhibition, Aedong is mounted at the entrance of the gallery, being installed on the middle of the wall reminiscent of a monument. This is juxtaposed with the subject matters related to belief (Chotdaebawi Rock, light, quartz, meteorite), creating a suggestive effect. IM, who has a long-time hobby of viewing rocks, says that using the Chotdaebawi Rock as a subject of work resulted from her interest in the bizarre scenes made by the tourists who visit it, rather than the rock itself. IM noticed that most of the tourists took enlarged shots of the Chotdaebawi Rock, positioning it at the center of photographs, rather than capturing the whole scene; which can be compared to the way iconized images are consumed, being detached from the context.
Aedong
Princess Yoseok (2018), was created by reappropriating the historical records of Princess Yoseok and the Venerable Master Wonhyo in Samguk Yusa (Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms), a book containing various stories including ancient Korean history, folktales, and records about Buddhism. A new narrative is created through the use of contemporary stories floating around the web, revolving around the love story of the two characters. The video presents carefully coordinated visualization, focusing on the power of sound — how it instigates people’s actions in situations where they come to have beliefs. The video begins with the subtitles “one day, I started to hear the faint sound of bells inside my ears” presumably narrated by Princess Yoseok, and the person considered to be Wonhyo takes on a journey to train the divine ear. The fragments of metaphors and symbolic scenes inserted throughout the video continue to be connected to one another, and question the beliefs underlying in the stories.
Princess Yoseok
The paintings and rocks displayed together in the exhibition space reconstruct scenes in IM’s video works. While the paintings feature the subject matters such as mountains, rocks, and water, that equally appear in the videos, the paintings portray things that the camera could not capture. Each work maintains its independence while simultaneously creating a symbiotic relationship with one another, allowing the audiences to navigate through the works with their own imaginations. Painted on a dark background, the subdued brushstrokes in the paintings allude to mysterious forms.
The Bottom
DOOSAN Gallery New York is currently presenting Youngzoo IM’s solo exhibition titled “Aedong” from March 7 to April 13, 2019 in DOOSAN Gallery New York. Through an experiment of installation, “Aedong” presents a new combination of IM’s past works illuminating the various facets of the formation of belief system.
Image Credits
All Images Are © Youngzoo IM
Guest Artist Bio
Youngzoo IM
IM’s works consist documented stories and scenes of urban legends, superstitions, pseudo-sciences, and pseudo-religions spread throughout South Korean society, and has realized them through various mediums such as video, painting, installations, and publications.
Youngzoo IM (b.1982) received her B.F.A and M.F.A. in Painting from Hongik University. IM has held solo exhibitions at DOOSAN Gallery (2018, Seoul, Korea) SANSUMUNWHA (2017, Seoul, Korea), Space O’NewWall (2016, Seoul, Korea), The Book Society (2016, Seoul, Korea), L’espace 71 (2014, Seoul, Korea), Space Sun+ (2014, Seoul, Korea) and Gallery DOS (2013, Seoul, Korea). Her works in group exhibitions have been presented at venues including Busan Biennale (2018, Busan, Korea), Seoul Museum of Art Nam Seoul (2018, Seoul, Korea), SFMOMA (2018, San Francisco, CA, USA), Cecil Theater (2018, Seoul, Korea), Platform-L (2018, Seoul, Korea), INSA ART SPACE (2018, Seoul, Korea), The Scrap (2017, Seoul, Korea), Art Space Pool (2017, Seoul, Korea), Hapjungjigu (2017, Seoul, Korea), KF Gallery (2017, Seoul, Korea), DOOSAN Gallery Seoul (2017, Seoul, Korea), Kumho Museum of Art (2016, Seoul, Korea). IM was the selected artist for the 2017 DOOSAN Art LAB exhibition series.
IM’s Website: DOOSAN Gallery
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