Jae Song

Name: 
Jae Song

Country where you live:

City where you live:

Statement : 

I believe all art is installation art because it can not escape the context of where it is experienced.  I believe all art is time-based because it cannot escape decay. With that, I am an installation artist working with different concepts of time-based media, exploring ideas of loneliness and separation -- not just from others but from the nature of my self. I am also interested in the participation of the experiencer and the materials, especially as a way to complete the physical form of a piece. The materials I use vary greatly but all have a certain technological nostalgia: cassette tapes, 16mm film, jigsaw puzzles, seeds. The final work can range from tiny objects mailed to an individual to large Rube Goldberg like mechanism to be installed in gallery or public space. 

Self Portrait Yellow (time based painting)
This painting is to be touched so that the top layer of yellow be rubbed off to reveal the portrait underneath. During the Corona Virus Pandemic, racism was on display for the world to witness. This series of paintings was made in response to all the hate crimes against people just because of the way they looked.
family portrait
During the corona virus lockdown, one of the popular home activities became solving jigsaw puzzles. So much so that puzzle making factories were working around the clock to fill demand. I found it poignant, millions of people unable to connect with each other, connecting these little pieces. One area in my life I found myself reconnecting to was with my family as I tried to take care of my aging parents. This brought forth the complicated relationship I have with them, discovering patterns they have that I repeat and emotional wounds that are passed down. Inspired by these emotions and materials around me, I made jigsaw puzzles of my family using the same puzzle pattern in order to mix and match the pieces together. An algorithm was created to complete the portraits of each just enough to make them distinctly themselves and still have pieces from all the others. My sister refused to participate, thus the missing pieces. Instead of leaving her portrait out, I wanted to have missing pieces to represent her. Just as my parents are a part of me, my sister’s absence is as well.
Bio: 

I relocated from Korea to the United States at the age of five. I have strong memories of being alone in groups, being frustrated and unable to express myself in English. This feeling of otherness has led me to seek refuge in private spaces and to create privacy within public ones.  Experiencing artwork makes me feel this simultaneous existence of these spaces and this is one of the reasons why I create art.

___________________________________________________________________

 

Submit for PORTRAIT

art jobs