Archives 2001 ()

5 October-2 November 2001

Tiger 2000

31 August-28 September 2001

Artist’s Method:
1. Approach random individuals to participate
2. Ask permission to  be photographed and to be part of an art exhibition, but they must give up something of permanent value in their wallets, and it cannot be money.
3. Use chocolate to seduce the individual into participating or use as a reward, if needed and wanted
4. Take polaroid picture (using I-zone camera)
5. Display object directly below the picture, and the wrapper of the chocolate to serve as evidence.

Feeding one’s curiosity is the main objective of this project. It has been said that the contents of a person’s wallet, reflect its owner’s personality. Indeed, a wallet is a very personal item containing intimate and private possessions that are hidden. Apart from the conventions ( license, money, etc), what kind of items do people keep in their wallets? just how do the contents of a person’s wallet reflect the personality, or does it? Why do most people carry so much in their wallets? For the most part, items are tucked in the wallets for important and/ or sentimental reasons. The items then, become sacred articles that are not easily disposable. Will people give up something of personal value from their wallets when tempted with chocolate, which historically and commonly are used for courtship and seduction. And what about at a chance to be an object of art?
What begins as a simple fulfillment of curiosity, leads to questions of what one may give up through sweet temptations.

22 June-20 July 2001

The foundation of my work revolves around the central theme of childhood perceptions. It is the attempt to resolve ‘how’ the notions of family, traditions, beliefs and childhood experiences have shaped my present  perception of the world and in the process, has become a project of self identify. That is why I turn to my childhood, quite possibly the most stable period of our lives. I feel that it is important to communicate this feeling of nostalgia to others. We cannot abandon what has made us. I intend to seek out its memories, hold on to objects of youth, to reintroduce childhood aspects back into the adult world and finally, to see how the adult interprets this reminiscing. Apart from the examination of childhood, another element has proved strong, the idiosyncrasies of my traditional Chinese family within western society. This small realm of cultural Chinese oddities has proved inspirational for future research into life outside the family structure.
These ideas translate into the artistic medium through a combination of sculpture and photography or what I call “Sculpturized Photography.” This process involved the creation of a three-dimensional object. The sculptures include my childhood photographs, folded into the shape of Chinese take out boxes. Each box becomes precious with the delicate application of red tissue paper. By using this particular shaped container, the personal aspect of the work becomes less relevant as the viewer interacts with the culturally associated object. The containers alone possess the qualities of a vessel that houses cultural issues of ethnicity. It is in direct association with the Chinese culture, although it is a product of western society. In result, the search for self identity generates to a next level, that of social commentary.

18 May-15 June 2001

I have used heavily processed foods to construct mysterious landscapes which are often as illusive as the chemicals used to manufacture them. This investigation has led me to the realization that food is a communicative agent of political, biological and societal alienation.
Living in Japan has enabled me to take my investigation in a new direction. In my most recent work I have continued with past pursuits but my concerns now focus more towards the fabrication of an ever-growing artificial landscape. I construct Mt. Fuji with sugar, mold clouds from candy-floss, and design towering tunnels with roasted marsh-mallows. I create glowing forests formed by squid jerky, skies from bean noodles and golden rivers or oceans from potato flakes. I modify these and other processed foods to form landscapes that are a few steps removed from the “real world.” I hope this process of synthesizing the synthesized can illuminate a connection between life in urban environments and its alienating forces on experiences of nature and reality.
My fascination with food and its relationship to various aspects of culture are what I have explored in my work to date. As this is a fairly recent body of work, I will continue to develop and explore it further. I hope to exhibit these photographs this year and next year in several countries that have influenced my work; Canada, Japan and Mexico.

“food provides order to the world and expresses meanings about the nature of reality.” The Anthropology of Food and Body; Carole M. Counihan 1999.

March 2001

Jinhee Jeon + Lisa Stinner | Inside Walls