Sceptical Orgy

Past Exhibition

Podbielski Contemporary proudly presenting:

Sceptical Orgy

 

Won Seoung WON
22nd March 2014 – 17th May 2014

curated by Jung me Chai

Opening, 21 March, 7 pm Whilst being a student at the Art Academy of Dusseldorf (M.F.A. 2002) WON Seoung Won received a lot of attention for her series: My favourite room (Wunschzimmer; 2000-2002). Her works consist of numerous motifs of mostly vivid colours combined with the compositions of old masters. This results in a whimsical mixture of European art and her child-like and magical perspective which points to desire, obsession and the past. During an interview with the contemporary Korean Art Association Art Museum she confessed having suffered from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and subsequently from lack of concentration as a child. She compensated by exaggerated story-telling and doodling. This was overall therapeutic and she managed to tell her surroundings – including her mother – her inner thoughts and feelings. At a first glance WON Seoung Won’s works seem mainly to have a narrative and aesthetic quality, thus making a difficult situation paradisiacal. Autobiographic elements are the starting point of her photo series. She continuously pursues the quizzical composition of the image which is steadily accompanied by the development of symbols. Her latest work Character Episode (2013) is based upon an orgy of singular elements in which the observer wants to take part, and remains under the spell. Numerous elements – animals, plants, a dumping ground, houses, rooms, the ocean and even planets – the only items not photographed by WON Seoung Won – are arranged in a perfect manner. Her compositions do not include humans. Is this a deserted retreat of a collective trauma? Her instable mental structure of her body of work can be found in the elements ocean, tree, cave and wind as seen in her work – the colourful triptych Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow (2012). The colour of the sky varies from a dark orange to different greys, from there to a silvery shine with a touch of delicate orange. The title of the exhibition Sceptical Orgy does not only relate to the obsessive view of her past and its subjective perception but also to her differentiated and sceptical attitude of utopian thoughts and space. Jung me Chai* For the exhibition will be published a small catalogue with an essay by Gregor Jansen and Kathrin Barutzki (Kunsthalle Duesseldorf). *Jung me Chai works as a freelance curator and was responsible among others for the exhibitions: No More Daughters And Heroes, Aram Art Gallery, The Goyang Cultural Foundation, Korea; Organ Mix, Total Museum, Korea and Kleines Affektchen, for Film, Video and Performance, Museum Bochum. Since January 2008 she publishes art columns for the Webzine ARKO, Arts Council Korea and has articles in Art Now, Nobless, Korea.