Work in Progress: Jeon Joonho
The Busan-based artist reckons with social, political and material instability to create his new sculptures for Frieze Seoul
The Busan-based artist reckons with social, political and material instability to create his new sculptures for Frieze Seoul
Ahead of his solo show with Gallery Hyundai at Frieze Seoul 2024, Jeon Joonho discusses his seemingly contradictory choices of material for his new ‘Phantom Garden’ sculptures. Repurposing stained glass from abandoned houses, and using wood and metal in an unsteady dialogue, Jeon interrogates the connections between the infinite and the finite, the whole and the fragment.
Livia Russell Can you talk about your new works for Frieze Seoul?
Jeon Joonho All my works at Frieze Seoul will be new, with the exception of one piece, Why the nose is placed above the mouth (2014), which was previously showcased at my solo exhibition at Gallery Hyundai in Seoul. The works represent my personal reflection on the human tendency to question and challenge the nature of existence in a finite life: a yearning for the unknown and the impossible. My skeleton sculptures are painstakingly crafted to appear as bits of wood and metal that are connected, and have disintegrated and been scattered. A testament to dedication and effort, these works mirror the human struggle to find infinite meaning in a finite life, a struggle that is often marked by asceticism.
The presentation also includes sculptures from the ‘Phantom Garden’ series, Needle and Flower (2024) and Bone, Flower (2024), for which I recombine images generated through a computer program that uses the deep learning of artificial intelligence to create three-dimensional works; metal sculptures made by scanning an old wall; and spider-web works made of door frames and stained-glass windows taken from a house that was abandoned due to gentrification.
LR How does this work fit within your œuvre?
JJ I’ve been exploring the problems of wider human existence through the experience of people lost amid contemporary political situations and the rapid economic development that is unique to Korea. The works for Frieze Seoul continue in the same vein, but expand the limited scope of Korea to depict my ongoing investigation into global issues such as climate change, migration and social inequality on a planetary level.
Each specific medium is juxtaposed with the idea of the work. For instance, using expensive materials such as titanium for insignificant walls stripped from old houses, or choosing aluminium for digital images created through computer code, demonstrates the contradictory relationship between medium and concept.
LR Are there new sources of inspiration in your current work?
JJ As Chuck Close once said: ‘Inspiration is for amateurs. The rest of us just show up and get to work. All the best ideas come out of the process; they come out of the work itself.’
LR What does your day in the studio look like right now?
JJ I recently moved into a new studio, so there is a lot of mess I still need to organize. I’m working on the new pieces for Frieze Seoul alongside the synopsis for a new film that I plan to start shooting next year.
LR How do you see your practice developing?
JJ The raw thoughts of the past have allowed for breathing room and gaps in my works, just as sharp stones turn into round pebbles after being washed by water over a long period of time.
Further Information
Frieze Seoul, COEX, 4 – 7 September 2024.
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Main Image: In Jeon Joonho's studio. Courtesy: the artist
