2020

^{Jaeyeon Park, <Jimmy>, Epoxy clay, 2020}

^{This piece is a series of chairs inspired by the song ‘La Ballade de Jim’ by Paradis(2011) and original music by Alan Souchon(1985)

This Electronic/House genre of the song got a joyful and repetitive rhythm, Invite the audience to be in a mysterious and dreamy state. And a monotonous and sleepy voice also makes us feel loose. I want to express those dreamy/drunken states by using neon colors.

Once when you see the lyrics, the song’s atmosphere changes a lot. It’s about Jim, He just lost his love, and everything he dreamed was gone. He got nothing but just a car and alcohol. He was so frustrated about the situation. So he wants to die. He goes faster and faster. Finally, his Chrysler is flying in the trees and flowers.

Those gold/bronze finished parts mean the shiny dream he dreamt. But all of those things seem to fall apart. So everything goes cracked and collapsed. You can see broken details on them.

Chairs are his car seat. Those balls seem like gear shifts of a car. Because He is so drunk, everything seems unstably moving and distorted. That’s the reason I made forms and textures so Irregularly and complex. Two chairs look like going somewhere like his fast car.

Also, I was more focused on my intuition, and I was continuously listening to this song while I’m making it. So I didn’t plan all the detail, have a vague plan and image of Jim’s situation In my mind. And instead of deep meaning, I was more focused on my initial response and reaction. All of them collectively come together in the end.}

^{Jaeyeon Park, <Untitled>, Paper clay, 2020

Inspired by ‘Bill Evans’, Jazz pianist, U.S}

^{Jaeyeon Park, <Untitled>, Epoxy clay, found objects, 2020

(Inspired by Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka)}

^{What’s the meaning of this project? There is no meaning in there. This is the first work that I honestly face. I forgot so many real problems of my work and life and just made what I wanted to make. Purely nonsense, I found objects that I randomly collected from the street, and black vinyl covered the whole studio just space was so messed, then I just freely expressed my feelings on the object with epoxy clay. Such a coincidence makes those “metamorphoses”.}

^{Jaeyeon Park, <Night Night>, Found objects, Epoxy clay, 2020}

^{One day, Mother says to her child, “Night Night,” The boy starts to prepare into bed. For having a good sleep, he begins to brush his teeth, put a light for warming a candle, and prepare a crucifix to protect himself from a scary nightmare. And also, there is warm, yellow lighting beside his bed.

But all of a sudden, just after falling asleep, a mystery dream came to him. His room has changed to the empty elevator room, and everything that he saw and used is changed to scary ghosts. It seems like a dark monster but somewhat has a kind of funny side too. He was frightened at first but soon had a curiosity about those ghosts, then the spirits started to talk to him. His adventure of a dark, mysterious world has just begun.}

^{Jaeyeon Park, <Untitled>, Found objects, Epoxy clay 2020}

^{It was an iron board. I tried to make something for my first critic using an iron board, but in the end, I didn’t satisfied with it, So I smashed it with a big hammer in deep anger at 3 AM., and I didn’t even want to see it, so I threw it away immediately,

The iron board was so sad and angry because it has been waiting so long time to become an artwork. So It decided to escape from the Cranbrook trash can. It started to find a new life. First of all, it found an abandoned chair and some stuff around it and gathered it to make a new body for it.

Then it decided to have a secret ritual of giving a newborn the left structure too. It made a holy cross hang it on the ceiling and killed something for forbidden ritual. Then blood comes from it, dropped in the dead iron structure, and something happening, it becoming an organic matter and continuously changing into something…}

^{Jaeyeon Park, Forrest Hudes, <Untitled>, Found objects, Epoxy clay, 2020

(Collaborated with Forrest Hudes)}

^{It was an unusual collaboration. At first, we decided to have a non-discussion collaboration. That means Forrest makes what he wants and gives it to me, and I’m going to add or change it in my way. He gave me a wood chair, which has a curved, wavy form. Those wavy patterns remind me of a surreal world and subconsciousness and dark-fantasy dreams. So I decided to make a subconsciousness of this chair.

The chair fell asleep in the middle of the night, and it dreamed a dream. It’s always been a friendly and kind chair in the chair’s society, but it always feels attracted to something deep abyss. This abyss looks very beautiful, attractive, but once the chair looks into its abyss very carefully, the abyss comes to it, catches it, destroys it. Its body is changing into a long curvy line from deep subconsciousness. And he cannot resist it. Because all these processes were so sudden, soft, so smoothly proceed.

Now, the chair doesn’t know what to do, is it can escape from it? Or goes more deep subconscious world to find or confront something? Or it’s dark, dangerous, beautiful abyss will eat him in the end?}

^{Jaeyeon Park, Rob Crossno, <LIMBO>,

Found objects, Epoxy clay, 2022

(Collaborated with Rob Crossno)}

^{What if there is a place called LIMBO which is located between heaven and hell.}