Exhibition

Cindy Ji Hye Kim. The Celibate Machine

6 Apr 2018 – 6 May 2018

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Interstate Projects

New York
New York, United States

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  • Morgan Ave L train
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Interstate Projects is pleased to present The Celibate Machine, a solo exhibition by Cindy Ji Hye Kim.

About

Utilizing vernacular art-making methods, her work locates visual production on a continuum of consumption that acts as a seamless buffer between horror and entertainment. The exhibition is comprised of a mural, projected animation, sound, and sculptures.

Developed in the 1930s and used as an American military ration during WWII, SPAM was introduced on the Korean peninsula by American G.I.s during the Korean War. Due to a shortage of available meat products, SPAM soon became a staple ingredient of Korean cuisine, and is often given as a gift during holidays.

This process of production and assimilation imbued with a legacy of violence represents a kind of well functioning machine, one that Kim describes as “a routine transformation of the foreign to the cherished, the imitation to the authentic.”

In a similar way, Rotoscoping—an animation technique that traces the frames of live action footage to simulate the effects of realistic motion— merges the photo-realism of its source material with the convenience of cartoon abstraction, producing an uncanny result akin to a chimeric masquerade.

These visual mechanisms of perpetual production and consumption operate just out of sight—whirling machines generating a tender fluidity, narrowing the gaps between individual frames to generate the sensation of seamless integration, an endless loop of ingestion.

The works included in this exhibition offer peeking glimpses behind the smooth facade of mass-appeal, exposing the underlying histories, narratives and enchanting perversity embedded in the everyday.

CuratorsToggle

Jonah Porter

Exhibiting artistsToggle

Cindy Ji Hye Kim

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