Meekyoung Shin | Painting Series | HADA Contemporary

M E E K YO U N G S H I N PAINTING SERIES

This catalogue is published by HADA Contemporary to accompany the exhibition:

MEEKYOUNG SHIN PAINTING SERIES 5 FEBRUARY - 29 MARCH 2015 No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any mean, electrical, mechanical or otherwise without prior written permission from HADA Contemporary Ltd.

M E E K YO U N G S H I N PAINTING SERIES

MEEKYOUNG SHIN Painting Series

HADA Contemporary is delighted to showcase the most recent works from the Translation - Painting Series (2014 - ongoing) by Meekyoung Shin (b. 1967) internationally distinguished for her meticulously crafted soap sculptures. The works in this exhibition are from the most recent series of work by the ar tist that challenges the traditional hierarchy of painting by creating sculptures that resemble classical paintings yet compellingly distinctive. Shin replicates antique frames, which are often used to adorn oil painting masterpieces, collected by the ar tist self. In lieu, these objects ornament the empty canvas filled with faintly tinted soaps as to question the authority the painting has enjoyed for centuries. By replacing oil paintings that are often associated with the value and wealth with affordable, unoriginal and expendable material as the soap, she enquires on the values we endow to an ar twork. The absence of the depiction of any recognisable subject matter eliminates any cultural or religious associations behind the works prompting the viewers to withhold their judgement or analysis but question the meaning.

Every object - especially in the case of relics - has their own time and space and Shin has been interested in how such objects’ time and space become altered through geographical transitions. Since 1996, Shin has been exploring extensively on the transformation, translation and reinterpretation of the value and meaning of objects when dislocated from their distinct original cultural and historical contexts. The ar tist have been casting and carving beautifully scented soap works often replicating and referencing Greek, Roman and Asian canonical sculptures and objects – more recently, broadening her references to archival materials such as images and her own creativity - to engage us to follow their unique trails of contextual metamorphosis. She dexterously toys with the original and the replica equally in the attempt to direct the attention towards the narrative formed via de- and re- contextualisation. Here, the scent of the soap becomes the key strategic ingredient that helps us to distinguish between the original and the replica and the image and the real through sensual experiences fully engaging us to observe the transitional process of interpretations. At the same time, the fragility and temporality of the material in contrast to the solid traditional sculpting materials questions the long-

Translation - Kuros (detail) Soap, bronze powder, fragrance 63 x 63 x 210.4 cm 2009

standing authority and status of sculpture in the history of ar t. Perhaps, the malleability and flexibility suggests the myriad possibilities of interpretations loosening the rigidity of a cultural sphere as well as broadening the realm of sculpting. Her works are like the soul or the spirit detached from the original body anxiously lingering on the edge in between the two worlds of the living and the dead relentlessly destabilising the norm of each worlds as alluded from the Ghost (2007 – ongoing) series. Synchronously, as seen in the Toilet Project (2004 – ongoing) and the Written in Soap: A Plinth Project (2012 ongoing), the engagement with the public imbues significant socio political dimension from the works and her practice. In A Plinth Project, she recreates the historical monument within different cultural, environmental and sociopolitical context stirring up vibrant conversation of reinterpretation. Hence, the historical monument once used as the enforcement and justification of the imperialist ideologies during the colonial era turns into the open space of social communication to reveal and discuss what is hidden beneath the layers of politics and ideologies in the contemporary context. At large, Shin’s works address issues as authenticity, authorship, originality, reproduction and needless to mention de- / re- contextualisation, yet the crucial impor tance is the impact of these elements to the identity of the original and the replicated objects. Emanating from her personal experiences Translation - Weathering Project (2009-) National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea 2013

and observations, her works are the ar tist’s attempt to generate the dialogue and discussion on our times where there are no longer originals, fixed narratives and interpretation, everything in the state of flux.

04 | 05

Meekyoung Shin completed her MFA at Slade School of Ar t and MFA and BFA at Seoul National University. Shin exhibited internationally including National Centre for Craft and Design, Lincolnshire (2014), Asian Ar t Biennial, Taiwan (2013), National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Ar t, Seoul (2013), Written in Soap; A Plinth Project, Cavendish Square, London (2012), Translation, Haunch of Venison, London (2011), Kukje Gallery, Seoul (2009), Museum of Ar t, Seoul National University, Seoul (2008), British Museum, London (2007), Sungkok Ar t Museum, Seoul (2002), collateral event of the 55th Venice Biennale, Venice (2013), Saatchi Gallery, London (2012), Plymouth Museum/Saltram House (2012), Cour tauld Institute, London (2012), Gallery Hyundai, Seoul (2012), Museum of Ar t and Design, New York (2011), Leeum Samsung Museum of Ar t, Seoul (2011), Ar t Museum of San Francisco, San Francisco (2011), TRA: Edge of Becoming, Palazzo For tuny, Venice (2011), Nanging Triennale, Nanging (2008), Meme Trackers, Song Zhuang Ar t Center, Beijing (2008), Cité Internationale des Ar ts, Paris (2007), Gwangju Biennale, Gwangju (2004) among many.

Translation - Ghost Series (2007-) Installation view at ‘Korea Artist Prize 2013’ National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea 2013

Translation - Vase Series (2006-) | Installation view at Haunch of Venison, London | 2011

06 | 07

Written in Soap: A Plinth Project | Cavendish Square , London | 2012

10 | 11

Written in Soap: A Plinth Project | Cavendish Square , London | 2012

translation - PAINTING SERIES