Boyon Kang
23.-30.04.16:
Reflective ME
Boyon Kang
23.-30.04.16: Reflective ME – Boyon Kang
Houseplants receiving attention in abundance grow faster.
Whether or not that is true, the idea is charming. It creates some sort of healthy interdependence: The owner allows the plant to develop and flourish in its most beautiful form while the plant provides the owner with aesthetic pleasure and air to breathe.
At the same time, the imagery of the elegant houseplant almost seems to be omnipresent: it occurs as an element in #vaporware/#sad #art, as the go-to subject for holiday pictures as a proof of nice, warm weather, or as the only organic element in our overly photogenic bedrooms combined with uni-coloured (preferably monochrome) minimal furniture (and the list goes on).
It seems as though the house palm tree has become a symbol for our generation, embodying the ambivalence between our self-created distance to nature and our longing to be connected to it all the same, the pursuit of “The Good Life” with endless holidays as a goal of the American-turned-Universal Dream, our obsession with the exotic imagery, and maybe even our own attention-seeking behaviour in regards to our online presence on social media.
Enquiring the relationship between Man and Nature, as well as our modern approach when dealing with our emotions, Boyon Kang often uses inorganic material to investigate our sentiments.
Houseplants receiving attention in abundance grow faster.
Whether or not that is true, the idea is charming. It creates some sort of healthy interdependence: The owner allows the plant to develop and flourish in its most beautiful form while the plant provides the owner with aesthetic pleasure and air to breathe.
At the same time, the imagery of the elegant houseplant almost seems to be omnipresent: it occurs as an element in #vaporware/#sad #art, as the go-to subject for holiday pictures as a proof of nice, warm weather, or as the only organic element in our overly photogenic bedrooms combined with uni-coloured (preferably monochrome) minimal furniture (and the list goes on).
It seems as though the house palm tree has become a symbol for our generation, embodying the ambivalence between our self-created distance to nature and our longing to be connected to it all the same, the pursuit of “The Good Life” with endless holidays as a goal of the American-turned-Universal Dream, our obsession with the exotic imagery, and maybe even our own attention-seeking behaviour in regards to our online presence on social media.
Enquiring the relationship between Man and Nature, as well as our modern approach when dealing with our emotions, Boyon Kang often uses inorganic material to investigate our sentiments.
For her first solo show in Switzerland, Reflective ME, she abstracted the Howea Forsteriana from the IKEA houseplant range to a mere presence of the palm tree, creating a sculpture with 3M-reflective fabric. She explores the above mentioned phenomena with an interactive installation utilising various media, such as video, sound and light.
Boyon Kang (*1988) is a South Korean artist who is currently living and working in Amsterdam (NL), where she moved after studying Graphic Design. She then studied at the VAV department at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie and obtained her BA in 2015.
Press Release
Boyon Kang (*1988) is a South Korean artist who is currently living and working in Amsterdam (NL), where she moved after studying Graphic Design. She then studied at the VAV department at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie and obtained her BA in 2015.
Press Release
