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Leo Kang

Leo Kang

2021

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One can only see what one sees. Without a body, one cannot engage in any activity. Without a tangible trace, one cannot recognize any information. Without proper-manifestation and application, an artist’s mind and hardly serve anything. With form or formless, art cannot escape “the burden of physicality”; or maybe it could.

 

The series of work questions the value of human being and human capacity to communicate information and speaks to the physicality of being. Is human not material? Is mind non-physical? Can intangible information be communicated? How much tangible information are recognized? Such questions are placed onto physical form, illustrating the paradox the questions confront in the act itself. Using different approaches, the series challenges both the artist's and viewer’s capacity in manifesting and perceiving information and the belief that mind is distinct from body yet tangible.

 

The existential doubt on human value is externalized through material and iconography. The coexistence of the two psyches – embracing of material and desire for freedom from physicality – clarifies the paradox human value confronts in physical conditions. Physical condition, such as textured surface and body restrictions, places the artist vulnerable in the procedure and exposes the “rawness” of the artist, the base of a human being as one's capability is manipulated.

 

Each piece accumulates as the embodiment of questions, examining different dimensions of the theme. The viewers interact with pieces, completing the artwork. Thus, one becomes many becomes one, a set of references to the theme that speaks many. Whether or not they come to a realization, all involved in the interaction becomes medium for the art as a phenomenon; ultimately questioning the current value of the human mind, or the human being itself. What follows is uncertain. Whether to embrace it or not remains a question.

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