akive

By Kwon Mee-yoo

Choe U-ram is a kinetic artist, who makes moving sculptures. He imbues life into his mechanical sculptures which breathe, wriggle and flap limbs. Eight of Choe’s works, including his latest, are on exhibit at Gallery Hyundai in Sagan-dong, central Seoul.

Since the mechanical work is time-consuming, the 42-year-old artist produces only a few pieces a year and he is popular overseas. This is his first solo exhibition in Korea in a decade.

A seal-like mechanical being breathes in and out at the basement of the gallery. Named “Custos Cavum,” meaning “Watchman Hollow” in Latin, this skeletal sculpture is inspired by seals in Antarctica. Choe christens his works in Latin as if they are scientific names.

“The seals make holes in ice to hunt. I thought of those holes as a space of communication between two different worlds and ‘Custos Cavum’ keeping the hole open,” Choe said at a news conference.

However, the piece appears not moving at all on the gallery floor. When looked at closely, its belly is slowly moving up and down, as if sleeping.

“When people get interested in the other world, their interest becomes a seed for wings growing up from the back of ‘Custos Cavum,’” Choe said.

These “myths” created by Choe are strangely convincing, inviting viewers to a whole new world.

Choe designs concept and mechanisms of his works and builds them with seven assistants. “It took about seven months to make ‘Custos Cavum’ from scratch,” the artist said.

“I dreamed of becoming a scientist when young and was interested in something moving, changing,” Choe said.

He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degree on sculpture at Chung-Ang University. When he had to prepare for a graduation exhibition, he felt like he was living in a mechanical jungle of buildings and cars and the idea of moving sculptures hit him.

In this exhibit, some 50 of Choe’s sketches and a drawing from his childhood are also on display to help viewers understand the artist’s world. In the drawing from when he was seven, Choe drew mechanical systems inside a robot and a fish, while the sketches give a glimpse to the artist’s studio, where these creatures are developed.

On the first floor, a new work “Merry-Go-Round” is on display. This one looks like a miniature of a colorful carousel with sparkling lights, but the carousel suddenly revolves at a great speed with a loud melody. He portrayed difficult things happening in simple, happy life through the rapidly spinning merry-go-round.

“I was more interested in nature, ecosystems and the universe and the role of technology. ‘Merry-Go-Round’ is my way of interpreting human life and its endless cycle,” Choe said.

Choe was appointed as an assistant professor of the Korea National University of Arts last year and meeting with students affected his artistic world.

“I returned to the fundamental question of ‘what is art’ and it influenced my works,” he said.

“Pavilion” on the second floor of the gallery is a symbol of paradox. In this exquisite, gold-plated showcase is a floating black plastic bag ― the one Choe actually acquired when he bought “tteokbokki” (rice cake in hot sauce).

He contrasts the concept of what is precious and what is not through this insignificant plastic bag in a showcase epitomizing glory and power.

“Ouroboros,” the self tailing-back snake, reflects Choe’s endless interest in cycles, while a gigantic “Scarecrow” made from electric wires represents the face of the Internet. “Arbor Deus Pennatus” is based on another myth conjured up by Choe, in which human beings of the earth’s twin planet and the god of trees, birds and iron interact.

What makes Choe’s works more special is they achieve the aesthetic value and high-level technology based on reflections of modern civilization.

The exhibit runs through the end of November. Admission is free.
For more information, visit www.galleryhyundai.com or call (02) 2287-3500.



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