Taymour Grahne Projects is pleased to present Listening to the Camouflage, a solo exhibition by Seoul-based artist Jung Min Park, opening on June 11 between 4-7pm at the Artist Room space (52 Lonsdale Road) as part of a joint opening across our 3 spaces.

Jung Min Park’s practice revolves around our physical sensations and how our bodies connect to our surroundings in a way that is unique to each individual. Park transforms the exhibition space into a multi-sensory immersive experience for the visitor, setting her abstract organic-shaped ceramics to a soundtrack of bubbling sounds. Placed in this environment, the colourful glazed ceramics become reminiscent of living breathing creatures. The carving and mark making seen on the surface of her works refers to the natural world and the microcosmos; her drawings appear like cells observed under a microscope. The unique watery sounds that come from each vessel enhance the sensation of flow that the curves and abstract lines create, suggesting continuous movement. The exhibition space is filled with a mysterious music that mimics the silent rhythms of the human body.

A crucial question for the artist is how the body interacts with the world through repetitive processes. Repetition has a significant meaning for Park as it’s perceived as a sign of ongoing growth. To create the sound installation for this show, the artist recorded sounds from her own body: heartbeats, breaths and chewing sounds are all described as repetitive ‘mechanisms of existence’ that are essential and closely related to the preservation of life. Through the visualisation of this idea, the artist looks at the body as a thin and permeable layer that stands between ourselves and the outside world.

Park gives particular importance to the art making process itself. She follows the nature and possibilities of clay and form-finding follows the properties of the material she’s working with. The artist describes the creative process in the studio as highly intuitive. She begins with coiling, a building technique where the artist repetitively piles up long coils of clay. When the shape starts to sag due to its own weight, she stops to let it dry and then continues coiling again. This process of building, collapsing, halting and rebuilding, naturally forms organic curves seen in all the works included in this show.

By carving, sticking, and sanding the clay and the plaster plinth, permanent impressions are made on the flat surface to reveal the layer below. These marks accumulate on the work and create a camouflage effect where multiple layers are hidden and revealed to archive and record the gestures of the artist’s hands. This idea reflects Park’s thoughts about herself and how one’s personality and character might adjust or change depending on external factors and circumstances. The stimuli received from one’s surroundings through their bodily senses are translated and interpreted in ways that differ depending on the perspective of each person, shaped by their previous experiences. Along with the ceramic vessels, Park presents a new series of wall ceramics where she focuses mainly on translating her mark making techniques onto two dimensional surfaces.

Jung Min Park (b.1994) is a South Korean artist, raised in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. She has a BFA from the Chelsea College of Art and a Foundation Diploma in Arts & Design from the UAL (London). She participated in the Bloomberg New Contemporaries 2020 show at the South London Gallery as well as in group shows in HIX, Gerald Moore gallery and Chelsea College of Arts in London. In South Korea, she participated in group shows in Space Hwangumhyang (Seoul) and Clayarch Gimhae Museum and Space Sarangfarm (Gimhae). In 2021, Park was shortlisted for the Korean International Ceramic Biennale. Currently lives and works in Seoul, South Korea.