“Luck of The Draw” (September 2021)
Created for HATAK
By Jin Jung
About this work:
In December 2019, Jin visited the show TETHER by Marcy Chevali at North Willow. That was the last time she saw that space. For the project HATAK, she explores ways to remember a place she has been to.
About the artist:
Jin Jung (b. 1981, Seoul) is a visual artist living and working in Jersey City, NJ.
Trained as an architect at Rhode Island School of Design, Jin worked as a designer in NYC before leaving for her Master's degree in the Visual Arts program (now known as Art, Culture, and Technology) at MIT. Since graduating in 2009 and returning to NY/NJ, she has been assisting her former advisor and professor, artist Joan Jonas while also working as an assistant to Lawrence Weiner until his passing in December 2021. Jin currently works at Joan Jonas studio and with the estate of Lawrence Weiner.
Whether creating design or art, Jin believes in creating shelters, physical or ephemeral, as her principal responsibility. Her use of temporality of time-based media provides space to the constantly changing dynamics of our everyday. Her practice takes form somewhere between sculpture and performance. They result in sculptural objects, videos, performances, and environments that often involve playful social intervention.
Below is a list of her concerns elaborating on the topics of interest:
1. Why do we say that?
Learning English as her second language, Jin has taken quite a fascination with the language. Idioms, definitions, and etymologies, often offer a starting point for her artistic investigation. Examples of these beginnings include Weight on the shoulder, Crocodile tears, Stretched thin.
2. How do we know we exist?
This never-ending question is the main driver in the artist's studio. The dependency of self and others, me and you, for the assurance of our existence is a constant riddle. She seeks new ways to see herself with others and others in relationship to herself.
3. Do you trust me?
The participatory nature of the performance forces the recognition of trust and its fragility. The artist needs help from the audience to complete the work. She has to prove her dependability. Sculptural art objects she uses during the performances are the only things that can mediate to prove her trustworthiness.
4. Play vs. Reality
The interactions among the artist and participants depend on many factors including past personal experiences. They can not be controlled or limited. What happens is what it is. In essence, they are chaotic and unpredictable. But there is an undeniable feeling of safety in abstract environments. The suspension from reality allows her work to be always sincere, but not always serious.
Her website is http://jinjung.com/
IG: @constructed_ephemera and @jin_jung__