Where did we come from Oh Ay
Yoon Joo
2024.12.27 - 2025.01.24
Gallery SIL[室]
Yoon Joo
Yoon Joo majored in Textile, and her work focuses on weaving. She respects the physical properties of each material while incorporating unconventional elements, offering new and unexplored experiences.
Existing materials may acquire names based on their use or have their names altered through processing. This repetitive phenomenon represents a continuous process in which materials gradually lose their origins and become fragmented. The artist explores the linguistic essence by giving new meaning to names commonly used based on their function, thereby restoring their identity as independent entities.
The artist deconstructs the purpose and meaning of materials by combining elements from a shared origin into contrasting forms. This process transforms them into unknown entities, breaking free from predefined structures and giving rise to new subjects.
Through this exhibition, the artist focuses on new combinations of materials—such as Korean calligraphy paper (hwaseonji), resin, and paper thread—that have been recognized as individual materials under the common origin of wood. The artist suggests various processes of deconstruction and reassembly.
Wood is a vibrant, living organism that takes on countless names. A tree that takes root in various materials has its own name, shaped by its form, season, and the differences in its environment. However, the material, unaware of its origin, is given a name from various species and is then artificially processed for a specific use. Once processed, it is sacrificed for functionality and receives yet another name.
Hwaseonji, resin, and paper thread absorb, intertwine, loosen, and connect with each other, forming a passive relational dynamic.
Through this process, the materials, having shed their original roles and forms, each perform individual functions in different positions and ultimately return to a single origin.
The artist deconstructs and reconstructs materials, dissolving the boundaries between them and reinterpreting them as harmonious and sustainable. Here, sustainability not only encompasses the enduring nature of wood as its origin but also centers on the concept of "use."
These works, intertwined with nameless materials, extend into functional crafts and art pieces, seeking to demonstrate the sustainability of materials as a core value of craftsmanship.