Sculpture resembling a mineral cross-section, cast in translucent resin over dark stone, with a glowing green line embedded inside, on wood floor

Antinomy

SaltMuseum, South Korea — 2024

A cross-disciplinary project consisting of two parts. Mixed-media, Video Essay. Series of sculptures. Based on the book “Plutonium in Maiden Hands” by Sokhina L. P.

The colonization of Korea between 1910 and 1945 left scars in the collective memory of the Korean people, shaping the development of South Korea as a state and its relations with Japan to this day.

In 1945, the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing approximately 200,000 people and hastening the collapse of the Japanese Empire. Korea was liberated from colonial rule the same year.

The bombings introduced a new kind of fear into the world: the fear of total annihilation. This fear has never disappeared. It remains a political instrument to this day.

During the Cold War, the Soviet Union established a number of secret cities to develop uranium. Large numbers of women were recruited to process uranium for weapons. Ignorance of nuclear physics and tight deadlines led to their exploitation, illness, and death. The artist was born and raised in one of these towns.

Gallery installation view: a lit glass display case on a rusted pedestal at left, a wall projection of a hand holding a glowing green resin sculpture, and a metal excavator bucket lit with blue light at right
Weathered yellow excavator bucket with hydraulic hoses against a white wall and a dark angled panel, thin blue light strip visible inside the bucket
Macro view of rusted metal excavator tracks in dim light, with a small green flowering weed growing between them
Side view of a rusted yellow excavator bucket with coiled hydraulic hoses and a thin glowing turquoise light strip inside, on a wood floor against black background
Glass display case on a dark rusted pedestal against a blue-lit concrete wall, containing an elongated pale object laid in sand
Wide gallery view with a wall projection of an elevated highway and city buildings, a lit glass case at left, and a dark sculpture against a white wall at right
Glass display case lit from within, containing a metallic elongated object resting on sand with rocks, in a dark room
Wide dark gallery view with the word Antinomy projected on a rear wall, a lit glass case at left, and an excavator bucket sculpture lit at right
Golden rice field in the foreground with a tree-covered hill and power lines under an overcast sky
Video still of a calm sea meeting distant islands under an overcast sky, subtitle text reading 'How is our land doing? How do you feel?'
Video still of an aerial view of tidal mudflats with branching water channels, subtitle text reading 'Even when I'm at home, you can still smell that air, the smell of sea moisture'
Video still of a dense high-rise city skyline at sunset with mountains behind, subtitle text reading 'I asked my pastor to preach a sermon, a sermon about it'
Video still of a dark narrow alley at night with illuminated Korean shop signs, subtitle text reading 'He said it was too complicated for a translator'
Video still of a dark narrow alley at night lined with illuminated Korean neon signs and shop lights
Video still of a lit convenience store front at night with posters in the window, subtitle text reading 'I miss you so much'
Video still of an aerial fisheye view of a night road intersection with cars, subtitle text reading 'I pray that you never cry'
Video still of a dark garage interior with a car silhouette and a backlit corrugated panel wall
Video still of a night cityscape with an illuminated hotel rooftop sign reading Toyoko Inn, subtitle text reading 'I found a book about other cities that are similar to ours'
Video still of a curved glass building facade with teal neon accent lighting at night, city street with signage at right
Video still of two hands cradling a coral-like resin sculpture with clustered translucent green bubbles, subtitle text reading 'I worry about you'
Video still of an aerial view down a street between apartment buildings under a clear sky, subtitle text reading 'I recently visited a small town'
Video still of an aerial view of a school sports field with a running track, buildings, and trees along a river
Video still of an aerial view of a school field's running track with students, subtitle text reading 'I've been thinking a lot about the fact that our world is on the brink of catastrophe'
Video still of a city street seen from a rooftop between apartment buildings at dusk, subtitle text reading 'The wars are getting bigger and bigger'
Video still of an aerial view of a memorial park with lawn and buildings beside a river and city skyline, subtitle text reading 'As if the worst thing that could happen to humanity had already happened here'
Video still of a dark high-rise building silhouette against a night skyline, subtitle text reading 'Do we still have time?'
Video still of a tall illuminated cross silhouette against a dark city skyline at night
Video still of an aerial view of a red combine harvester cutting a row of crops in a field
Close-up of hands holding a coral-like resin sculpture with translucent green nodules and a glowing yellow-green light inside