2020
Performance, video
Standing lamp, motor, wire, insect screen
Dimensions of the sculpture: 150cm (width) X 200cm (height)
private space
Münster
8 minutes
* The insect costume performance work can be found in "벌레보듯하다 (TO LOOK AT SOMEONE AS IF THEY WERE AN INSECT)".
In this costume, the form of an insect is represented, and a person wears it in a confined space. Opposing this, a rotating device is designed to eliminate insects if the required 1.5-meter distance is not maintained. The performer interacts with the device, either attempting to evade it or confronting it directly.
This experimental artwork emerged from questions about the hierarchy among people based on gender, race, and economic status, as well as the definition of human worth. In Korean, there is an expression “벌레보듯하다”, which translates to “to look at someone as if they were a worm or an insect”—a phrase that signifies degrading or despising someone.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, people distanced themselves from one another, avoided close contact, viewed those infected with the virus with negativity, expressed repulsion, and racism against Asians increased. Particularly in this period, the gaze described by “벌레보듯하다” became more apparent, as people began to perceive one another in this way.
