Interview with Supernova 7th Dimension Solo Spotlight Artist YALOO
SM: We are so excited to include you in our Night Lights Denver curation, but also as our solo artist spotlight for Supernova 7th Dimension in 2022. Selections from Pickled City are an interesting pairing for Denver, which has a semi-arid climate. How did this shape your thinking about environment and ecological connections within your work and for this project?
Y: I believe it is important that artists participate in the conversation and contribute with a creative voice on critical matters of our time. Pickled City is a sci-fi fairy tale about an underwater city. The work was originally conceived and created by elements such as the mystical imagination of Shaman folktales, ancient artifacts of the Korean region, modern day science, and complex sentiment toward the climate crisis. Technically I like to challenge myself to learn new technology for every project and for this one, I learned 3D software blender to create the first iteration of Pickled City. At this moment I am learning Unreal Engine to create a VR version of Pickled City.
SM: Your work for the clocktower is a joint commission that culminated in an exhibition for FACT Liverpool. Please tell us more about this exhibition and the adaptation of Birthday Garden for projection here in Denver?
Y: Birthday Garden project is about excavating fragments of Korean culture which have been traded and sold for global consumption. By merging these fragments with both my own and my family’s experiences and memories, I forge my own path through the world.
The installation at Fact, Liverpool, the exhibition experience is divided into a temple-like gateway, a pond and a shrine to seaweed. Seaweed has long held an important position in Korean culture, particularly as a comforting ritual repeated across generations, with families eating seaweed soup every year as a nutritious birthday meal. I weave these memories together with a glowing altar in the shape of a sheet mask, and images of seaweed guardian fairies dancing to K-Pop, choreographed with members from the University of Liverpool's K-pop Society and a group of young people from Liverpool. I spent a few months figuring out what to create for the clock tower commission and which of my on-going projects would make most sense for it. When I saw seaweed guardian fairy came to life on screen. It was very easy to imagine a giant fairy dancing in the middle of the city dancing to wish for good deeds of Denver, it made so much sense for me. So I created a new version that fits the clock tower building.
SM: I think that a 10-story guardian fairy dancing to K-pop is going to be very positively received here in Denver. How does pop culture influence your artistic practice?
Y: K pop is one of the most fascinating motifs to explore as a Korean media artist. In my personal life, kpop meant different things over the years. Growing up in a big city, kpop was blasting every corner of the streets, it was too mainstream for snobbish nerd teenagers like me. I simply avoided it. When I moved away from K peninsula, I noticed myself voluntarily looking for YouTube videos of kpop stage recordings out of homesickness. In a way like other international Kpop fans, Kpop helped me to locate myself in the world and give me a sense of belonging. I started to actively incorporate kpop elements into my works. l moved back to Korea in the beginning of the pandemic and I have been very lucky to connect with a lot of talented media artists in Seoul. Some of my peers often work for the KPOP industry for temporary gig to support their artistic practice. I noticed that compared to how much the industry seems to make, my peers were not as compensated as I imagined. K pop turned out to be this vicious money making business sucking up juice out of emerging K media artists...!
SM: You will be teaching for SAIC this semester, so we will be lucky to get to meet you during Supernova. What advice do you give to your students as they develop their voices in their own work with regard to seeking opportunities for exhibition?
Y: Yes, I am very lucky to be back to Chicago and share my learning out of school to a new generation at SAIC. One great thing about being part of the SAIC community that I realized after I left was frequent exhibition opportunities as a student. The environment was very chill and there were lots of student/artist- run gallery spaces. A lot of them were exhibition spaces converted from living rooms for the weekend only. I gained a lot of intro experiences of being an artist.
SM: How do you balance your own practice with teaching?
Y: My artistic practice and teaching feed each other real time. Big part of my work is about creative problem solving and experimenting with new workflows while balancing between criticality and technology. When I learn something from my studio, I share it with my classes. I usually teach new media arts, so it makes sense to do so. I also try to share practical tips on life after school as an artist, the stuff I wish I knew before I graduated.
September 2022
