<The Forest of Red Kindness>
Joy Baek presents
Preview 03.Feb.2024. 4 pm-6 pm
Open 04 - 08.Feb.2024. 11 am-5 pm
Open 04 - 08.Feb.2024. 11 am-5 pm
In the exhibition "The Forest of Red Kindness," Joy Baek illustrates a self-reflective journey, navigating between acceptance and defiance of the traditional values inherited by women in her family, as well as exploring the emotional paths and bonds connecting them.
Joy’s sculptures and drawings in the exhibition evoke images of two or more subjects growing while depending on each other, surviving by sharing nourishment, consuming other parties, or being consumed by others. Some inspirations come from nature, such as tree suckers, witches’ brooms, water sprouts, and bee hives attached to branches. Others derive from Korean old phrases that often lightly describe a parasitic relationship, such as ‘sucking the backbone of somebody’ or ‘putting a straw on someone’s back.’ These original inspirations elicit an eerie yet sorrowful ambiance, while their fragile yet tight links to each subject fill us with awe. They resemble the emotional paths and bonds connecting three women—Joy, Joy’s mother, and Joy’s grandmother—whose physical distances have widened over generations.
Due to the following characteristics of the materials Joy works with, her artworks constantly and subtly change in response to surroundings and time. This aligns with how time affects the formation and progression of relationships. Latex which darkens in colour over time. Strands of hair will shed with each relocation of the work. Gelatine hardens and shrinks as the water evaporates. Metal pieces will rust due to humidity in the air. Charcoal powder is blown away by someone’s breath and the wind from their movements.
