[Doyoung Kim] Critical Essay / Mijung Kim

 In between Swimming and Paddling

 Mijung Kim

As an artist, Doyoung Kim works with various categories, such as project planning and space management. There is something in common with what he does because he finds points of heterogeneous collision within the world surrounding him and finds ways to reveal them by tackling them with his entire body. When he said that he considered a turning point in his work as an artist, I wanted to hear more about the multi-layered narratives accumulated in his work rather than writing something that defines or organizes his works. This interview is a compressed record of the artist's plans as he prepares to experiment and expand the subjects and methods of his work and observations on the issues that he is faced with.

Swimming, 

Video 6min, HD, Color, Sound, Subtitle(FR, ENG, KR), 

2021

 
Looking back on your activities so far, such as planning and projects, it seems that you put significance on continuously working together. What do you think is the reason or motivation behind repeatedly taking on community-based artistic activities and forms?
I once lived in a flophouse area. While working on the flophouse-related piece and listening to the stories of those living there, I thought becoming their neighbor and living with them and capturing it as a video, rather than a formative creation, would be the right thing to do. Such a method is similar to my work in action. I think an artist must raise awareness by continuously exposing stories that others might ignore. Of course, there is indeed a limitation to the art as a tool, and still, onsite experiences are important for me. This is because I am always concerned about the subjective interpretation of other people's narratives. So whenever there is a community or topic that needs work-related research, I always go there in person and listen to their stories.
 
Then, in connection to this, let us talk about your recent solo exhibition, Pray for a Good X (2022). On the surface, the exhibition seems to refer to an environmental crisis centered on water, but in reality, it was intended to emphasize that there are neglected individuals in the middle of crises, which you have been consistently stressing. However, it is regrettable that the multilateral tiers were not revealed much in terms of formality. I am curious about your explanation of the exhibition and your assessment.
I have been working on water-related pieces and Pray for a Good X is a story about the people who are suffering in the era of capitalism, industrialization, and environmental pollution. The exhibition focused on water pollution. There was a time when the water supplied to the studio was not drinkable and could not even be used for brushing teeth. I was not the only person using this water. The people living in the area and migrant workers also used the water. I am well aware of how poor their environment is. That is why, I added mouthwash to one of the exhibited pieces, Objects, Dead Waters, to display my hope for purifying the contaminated water at the time which was not even suitable for brushing teeth with. The exhibition was prepared based on the data that were mainly researched and collected from polluted rivers, water sources, valleys, lakes, and seas for a year. Power units that are affected by temperature and humidity were placed in a metal tank for Hole: Leftover, and the piece was about global temperature, polluted water, and daily life affected by them. Although the theme of the exhibition was about the environment, I have been continuously working on water-related pieces so they were connected, and at the same time, I wanted to make people aware of those who have no choice but to live in such an environment. So, the theme was not actually about environmental issues. It was rather closer to wanting to talk about the people who were actually affected by them.

Hole: Leftover, 

Mixed Installation, 

Water and collected object operation in a steel circular tank. Steel Circular tank, Temperature and humidity sensor, electric motor, Gathering, Object, Water (2200t), Software: This Artwork controlled by Aduino control system and controls the operation of electric motor with temperature and humidity sensor, 

1600x1600x1800mm, 

2022

 
Swimming (2021), which is known as a turning point in your work, unfolds somewhat differently from your previous video works. Water Reverberation (2021) and Thirsty Land II (2021) present images and narratives in succession, centered on the questions in text format. You never learned how to swim, however, you repeatedly paddle away in the water and return to the shore in Swimming. As the will to cross certain boundaries and the difficulties intersect, you examine how the points you are currently contemplating about as an artist are linked to your body swimming. Meanwhile, the juxtaposed scene of refugees traveling to and from the strait at the beginning of the video seems to need an explanation. How can the refugees swimming or paddling be linked to your swimming?
The water that I look into is a mirror that projects the world and a space that metaphors human society. I cannot swim. Then, I thought about why I did not learn how to swim. Due to various personal situations that I had endured, this question became “Why did I not put in the effort?” In the past few years, I have been in many activities closer to social movements than work, and it was disappointing and felt flustered because they were not proceeding into my work. I thought maybe I was contented with the situation I was in, and as the number of showcasing new pieces and participating in exhibitions decreased, I told myself not to be lost in thoughts and to do something, so I started working on Swimming. However, when I went to Haeundae and swam the fear I felt was overwhelming. Still, when I actually did it, it was really refreshing. I realized that it was very important to unfold my story as a piece of work. Since this is not something that is only applicable to me, I want to share the stories of diverse characters. Regarding the refugees you asked about, I wanted to encompass commonality at the point of action rather than incidents. I wanted to talk about these acts of survival, such as flapping arms and kicking legs, as all the people in the modern world and as our common perspective instead of as an individual's narrative. The juxtaposed scenes should be seen as a kind of caption displayed as images. It would be better if you could sense it as modern people rather than as a person or an incident. As you have mentioned, it is a story about today's lives with repeated attempts to cross certain boundaries and frustrations. Just as I cannot survive without struggling in a human society, which is like the ocean, I think it would be the same for them as well. I want to look into their survival and their act of emitting signals.
 

Untitled (Series 'The House of Colonial Period'), 

Mixed Installation/Polytunnel (Wood, Plastic Wrap), Video 12'00" 

(1) 02'15" (2) Sound 02'30", Sound and Vibration Dynamic multi-system, Archive Photography,

 2020

At this year's open studio, the materials related to refugees stood out. I wondered how your interest in displaced beings, including refugees, would be reflected in your future work. I heard that you are going to Spain soon, so I would like to hear what kind of plans you have for the future as an artist.
I plan on meeting various people in the process of traveling along the route of refugees entering Europe from Africa. I am also going to visit Southern Morocco on the route of African refugees entering the Canary Islands, which is believed today to be where the ancient city of Atlanta was, and the point leading to Western Sahara. I think I will encounter people and legends in places that are connected to our modern-day lives and discover stories of people in person. I plan to work for two to three months in Spain and Africa traveling back and forth, and I think I am going to compile my stories for a solo exhibition in a year or two. I want to focus only on this swimming project this year, but I wonder if it will turn out well.
 
 
Mijung Kim (Arko Art Center curator)
She majored in painting and arts. Her curated projects include mis–play (co-curated, Insa Art Space, 2014) and Today, Nobody Was There (Art Space Pool, 2018) and MEDIA PUNK: Belief, Hope & Love (2019), Hong Lee, Hyun-sook Solo Exhibition: Swoosh, Tsu-pu! (2021), and To You: Move Toward Where You Are (2022) at Arko Art Center and the Monthly IAS (2022) series at the Insa Art Space. She was selected as the curator of the 2017 Arts Council Korea's creative academy and took part in the Collective Z-A, discussions on sustainability, with artists Woojin Kim and Bo-kyung Jun from 2018 to 2019. She also joined the MMCA Residency Changdong in the second half of 2018 as a project team. She is interested in works and exhibitions that contain scenes of slipping and crashing languages that are widely accepted in social structures and institutions.