Kim Seob Boninsegni
Born 1974, Seoul, South Korea. Lives and works in Geneva, CH.
Curated by Julia Marchand
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Born 1974, Seoul, South Korea. Lives and works in Geneva, CH.
Curated by Julia Marchand
Download
RING THE TACO BELL
An elongated form, wilfully distorted, comes on the fore of the screen with its open silver mouth standing behind the aspects of the astrological diagram. What appears to resemble a worm is actually an artwork* by Kim Seob Boninsegni, taking the shape of a backpack and stemming from his interpretation of a science fiction movie: Donnie Darko by Richard Kelly. In the film, a translucent ectoplasmic form comes out of a teenager’s chest.
The blue distorted artwork reminds us of one of the stylistic characteristics of another time: the Mannerism. What is this Late Renaissance style if not the reflection of a new uncertainty and religious turmoil, bodies depicted like supernatural, twisting beings, dynamization of the pictorial space, elongated forms and acid colours? It rings a bell: the XXI century is Mannerist. Can we, perhaps, acknowledge that one could carry this elongated backpack as one carries the unbearable symptoms of our epoch that has come to an end? Florian, a 15 year-old boy, asserts that his generation is witnessing the shattering of the era*. The young generation stands for the elongated, slender forms which point towards disequilibrium. Point de bascule. Tipping point.
The work of Kim Seob Boninsegni reflects the artist’s accurate observation of human relations, especially young adults’ behaviours towards each other and themselves. His film ‘Occupy the Pool’ (2015) involves non-professional Geneva-based actors born between 1983 and 1991. It ventures into a continuous loop of laconic speech, a group - born out of a squat generation - living off the simple enjoyments of an endless night-out. The elliptical narrative of the film finds here its graphic counterpart in the Taco Bell; the relations are that of a young person, of humans and of planets in the natal chart.
Smell of junk food, of fast food, of trashy snacks. It’s time for a taco and to apply some perfume in their hair. One line in ‘The Suiciders’ by Travis Jeppesen says: « I want to fondle the constellation. A photograph of myself taped to the TV screen reminds me of that world I come from. A world where teenagers don’t have hair»*.
Now it is said they don’t have future; they are striving for a better outlook.
The blue distorted artwork reminds us of one of the stylistic characteristics of another time: the Mannerism. What is this Late Renaissance style if not the reflection of a new uncertainty and religious turmoil, bodies depicted like supernatural, twisting beings, dynamization of the pictorial space, elongated forms and acid colours? It rings a bell: the XXI century is Mannerist. Can we, perhaps, acknowledge that one could carry this elongated backpack as one carries the unbearable symptoms of our epoch that has come to an end? Florian, a 15 year-old boy, asserts that his generation is witnessing the shattering of the era*. The young generation stands for the elongated, slender forms which point towards disequilibrium. Point de bascule. Tipping point.
The work of Kim Seob Boninsegni reflects the artist’s accurate observation of human relations, especially young adults’ behaviours towards each other and themselves. His film ‘Occupy the Pool’ (2015) involves non-professional Geneva-based actors born between 1983 and 1991. It ventures into a continuous loop of laconic speech, a group - born out of a squat generation - living off the simple enjoyments of an endless night-out. The elliptical narrative of the film finds here its graphic counterpart in the Taco Bell; the relations are that of a young person, of humans and of planets in the natal chart.
Smell of junk food, of fast food, of trashy snacks. It’s time for a taco and to apply some perfume in their hair. One line in ‘The Suiciders’ by Travis Jeppesen says: « I want to fondle the constellation. A photograph of myself taped to the TV screen reminds me of that world I come from. A world where teenagers don’t have hair»*.
Now it is said they don’t have future; they are striving for a better outlook.
Julia Marchand
*The work, exhibited at Truth and Consequences Gallery in 2014 and made in collaboration with product designer Ludovic Bourilly, is entitled "A storm is coming, Frank says / A storm that will swallow the children / And I will deliver them from the kingdom of pain / I will deliver the children back to their doorsteps / And send the monsters back to the underground / I'll send them back to a place where no-one else can see them / Except for me / Because (...)" 2014.
*In a interview for Libération, French Philosopher Bernard Stiegler describes how European civilisation is sinking since 1993, and brings the observation of Florian into the landscape. Stiegler, B. "Bernard Stiegler: «L’accélération de l’innovation court-circuite tout ce qui contribue à l’élaboration de la civilisation», Libération, 1st July 2016. http://www.liberation.fr/debats/2016/07/01/bernard-stiegler-l-acceleration-de-l-innovation-court-circuite-tout-ce-qui-contribue-a-l-elaboration_1463430 (accessed 1st of July 2016)
RING THE TACO BELL
2016
RING THE TACO BELL
2016
RING THE TACO BELL
2016