Ju Young Kim, In case of emergency break glass, 2024

2024

Medium

Original aircraft window, stained glass and steel

Dimensions

126 × 160 cm

Status

In Gallery Collection

Collect24 Art ID

C24-156093

'In case of emergency break glass' (2024) is part of the work series AEROPLASTICS, in which Ju Young Kim explores liminal states and transit zones by reshaping industrial transportation modules from airplanes into symbolically encoded works. She combines these with stained glass, cast metal, ceramics and plastic, thus combining high-tech objects with artisanal techniques. In doing so, the artist repeatedly draws on Art Nouveau elements, whose floral formal language at the beginning of the 20th century pursued the goal of integrating nature into the modern world and the onset of industrialization. Taken from their original context, these elements appear in Kim's works in a surreal way, moving between different time horizons and opening up a new perspective on the phenomena of a globalized world. Kim examines the relativity of space and time from the perspective of a transcontinental traveler. Landscape motifs and traditional symbolism meet industrial products and transportation systems to paint a picture of an accelerated society in which different cultural and temporal components collide. The artist examines feelings of parallel existence and instability that arise from living in different places and explores concepts of identity, belonging and home. "In case of emergency break glass", Kim transforms part of an airplane wall with a window into a surreal Art Nouveau element reminiscent of a balcony balustrade. In floral ornamentation, the glass references the natural environment, which contrasts with the high-tech means of transportation. At the time, artists sought inspiration for the development of Art Nouveau in nature in order to bring it closer to people at the time of industrialization, which was characterized by technical developments and increasing consumerism. By drawing on historical stylistic elements, Kim refers to parallels in today's society and that of the past, in which technological innovations fundamentally changed the relationship between people and their environment.