Jinyoung Yu 유진영

amazing sculptural works of korean artist, Jin-young Yu.

i've been meaning to make a post about her, but i was so
overwhelmed by how struck i was by her works, and the amount of emotions
and thoughts they stirred and resonated in me... so while i made works for
my upcoming show, i let it settle and feel like i can finally round it up here.

her interview (that i'd helped translate!) for Arrested Motion
just came out yesterday, so i thought it'd be a perfect time to spread words
in the US about her.
( please read her interview to find out more about her world. )

personally, it was such an amazing opportunity for me to be able to
speak to her and help interview her - the whole experience and getting to
know her works really did awaken something in me.

so here, i have finally rounded up some images from her blog,
the following being her most recent body of works, featuring a family :






" My works are about the “invisible people.” I wanted to talk about the stories of the people who said, “I definitely don’t know them, but they knew me so well. They said they worked with me for over a year. To me, that person was a transparent existence that neither did or didn’t exist.”

It was too simple to define them as “the alienated people” or “the depressed people”. Instead, I thought that I, or we, could easily be one of them. My works are about people who, instead of getting along with others, choose to keep a distance from them, and be invisible or be left alone unconcerned. Instead of trying to fit into the world, they climb into a space of their own and reject other people’s intrusions.

My works feign expressionless faces. They are holding their tears back and swallowing them, or they try to put on a cool face despite the traces of tears on their faces. Or simply, they seem to have something hiding behind the hurried pretense of their expressionless faces. Looks on their faces that don’t make people approach them with ease - a subtle look of suspicion and caution keeps others from easily approaching them. "
- excerpt from her interview -

her older works were individual figures. the wrinklier inflatable looking
ones are her earlier attempts at the current material and techniques :













some of her works in progress, and studio shots :









one of the best things about sculpture is that they interact with the space
surrounding it. it works with the spatial context and changes with it as well.

she says that she "prefers spaces with corners, pillars, and dark spots".
here are some gallery installation shots :






here are some other things that showcase her amazing attention to details :

(she hand-made the above clear bookmarks for her show as a gift for attendees.)


(masks - full scale)


(drawings that coincide with her sculptural works)


i can say for sure that finding her works and speaking to her were near-epiphanic experiences for me.
while translating her interview, and asking some personally curious questions (the last few in the interview),
i came to realization of how i should approach my own works.
she & her works have really inspired me to re-speculate
my old bad habits and wrong approaches in art. (thank you!! ^_^ )



hopefully i can one day see her works in person,
and maybe even meet the artist herself, jinyoung yu 유진영.
until then here are her blog and the interview on arrested motion.