Ji Yong-Ho 'Mutant'
December 19 - January 1, 2008

Ryu Han-Seung (assistant curator, National Museum of Contemporary Art, Korea)

Ji Yong-Ho‘s work begins with 'mutants'. Among mutants, or mutations, Ji Yong-Ho is especially interested in artificial mutation. The definition of a mutant refers to an individual, organization, or cell that hold abnormal genes caused by mutation. In other words, there is a structural change of the DNA or the chromosomes, which make up the DNA. A mutation may occur as a natural process, but may also be caused by external factors such as chemical or radioactive reactions. What is interesting is the fact that the mutation does not benefit the creature. Therefore, the mutant usually suffers to adapt, survive, and to reproduce in the existing environment. While the images of Ji Yong-Ho’s mutants are gruesome and overwhelming, they are actually vulnerable and insecure creatures. This is expressed by the acrylic balls used in the eyes, one can sense a sadness and mournfulness in their eyes as if they are telling us their tragic fate...

In that the tire is a byproduct of industrialization, it is possible to find a relevance in the works of Dada from aart-history perspective. Dada refused traditional artistic viewpoints and yearned to create a new way of perceiving the object. In this sense, he started to focus on materials that were previously regarded as irrelevant to art, and therefore has opened a new possibility of objects as an art. However, while Dada's objects strongly imply anti-rational, anti-aesthetic, and anti-moral attitudes, Ji Yong-Ho‘s tire as an objet does not try to deny the current society or art. Neither does it seek to suggest a solution. Instead, he tries to return to the tradition of sculpture by using this eccentric material. It is an effort to understand the tire as a new type of material in the modern era, and an effort to embed this new material in the context of traditional sculpture. Some may argue that the use of tire as a material makes the works far from following the heritage of traditional sculpture. But to reverse this is to acknowledge that his flexible use and understanding of the material has expanded the domain of sculpture as a whole. In other words, we may imagine an analogy of Ji Yong-Ho himself jumping on top of the grown-up body of contemporary sculpture to give life to a so-called illegitimate child of contemporary sculpture, which may be a mutant of modern sculpture.