Particle 431022 VI Sculpture

Born in Seoul, Korea, 1980 Lives and works in Korea More works and information on the website The mystery of life stemming from a cell into the universe Kho, Chung-Hwan, art critic "˜The cross-section of pipes looks like a single cell structure; the arrangement of the pipes is lively and vivid, like a wriggly living structure, as if it were about to come to life'. This is the artist statement, or confession, you may say, on how the origin and conception of his works evolved, and I believe it is the clue to lead us to better understanding of Jang's world. In fact, the cross-section of the compiled pipes might first remind us of single-cell organisms; this first impression is arbitrary and artificial (in a creative way), derived by Jang's interpretation, but not because these features are inherent in the material itself (pipes). Jang captured this motif by capturing the external similarity in forms. For the artist, the conception is very concrete. Jang regards the cross-section of pipes with the cells in the same light as the arrangements of pipes as an organic being. The cross-sections, having been put together, produce a kind of arrangement (and pattern), the individual cells constitute and eventually produce a lively being. Along with the formal similarity, there is an analogical reasoning process that regards the real and imagined in the same light. The way of putting together the cross-sections of pipes and the notion that the individual cell is the essential building block of a life form are the quintessential and substantial skeleton concepts of his works. Based on all of these, we can glimpse Jang's interests in and ideas toward vitality. This was made possible because Jang continuously pursued his interest in life on a daily basis, so some things that might easily be overlooked or acquiesced to were not left neglected despite seeming incidental. Likewise, Jang's works focus on specificity while at the same time touching on relatively universal issues pertaining to the relationship between subjectivity and the world. In other words, how the world penetrate subjectivity, or how the world nests within subjectivity, and how this process entails interpretation and ramification; how the modified/transformed vision can be an analogous representation of the world itself and the operating principles or relevant mechanisms involved.