A STRANGER IN THE ROOM (2020), 모기장에 페인트, 목탄, 단채널 영상, 9분 23초, 2020, UNIST 사이언스월든, 울산, 한국
A STRANGER IN THE ROOM (2020), Mosquito net, Paint, Charcoal, Single-channel Video, 9mins 23secs, 2020, Science Cabin, UNIST, Ulsan, South Korea
A STRANGER IN THE ROOM (2020), Mosquito net, Paint, Charcoal, Single-channel Video, 9mins 23secs, 2020, Science Cabin, UNIST, Ulsan, South Korea
‘We are trying to be safe by being quarantined in our respective spaces to avoid viruses that are too small to be seen. However, it is unclear whether it is a safe space or if anything can come inside. We experience a state of discomfort, anxiety, and helplessness in a small space, while also feeling a certain sense of security and comfort. It may be that we are experiencing isolation as a result of the Covid-19 era'.
This work was produced in Science Walden’s Science Cabin at Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology(UNIST), while Darae was under quarantine for two weeks. During her residency at Jangsaengpo last summer, she had set up a mosquito net in a small room that was full of mosquitoes. She feels that the comfort and various emotions that she felt at that time resemble her self-isolation era. Perhaps her efforts to avoid small bugs were too much, and she wanted to recreate the irony of the fictitious sense of stability under the mosquito net through a new personal space. Mosquito nets were installed inside the Science Cabin and the work was carried out using charcoal and paint. The four individually installed bed nets were grouped together by other bed nets that hung above them. The mosquito nets were sprinkled with charcoal and paint, which kept changing colour, depending on the light. This space served as a space of isolation, but it could not be isolated. The work incorporated aspects that society is experiencing under the circumstances of Covid-19. Where the materials vainly passed through the mosquito net without being completely smeared on the net represent the futility she feels caused by the isolation, while also feeling the beauty of the mosquito net as it becomes transparent, emitting new colours as the sun shone upon it.
The spider web-shaped structure filled the entrance to the house, like a trap; so it was essential for visitors to brush past or to try to avoid the huge structure while trying to enter the interior space of the Science Cabin. In addition, the structure of the space was constructed to allow direct entry in four places. Although the entrances of each structure did not directly connect, they were clearly connected by the fabric that surrounded the structures. People could experience self-isolation inside the structure, although it is unclear whether the space could protect them from something they really wanted to escape.
This work was an attempt to explore new spaces that humans need, by capturing our current appearance rather than conveying the message that we should live in the current era. Darae hopes that this work, which brought together many first-time experiences from the unexpected Covid-19 era, will give us a better understanding of the series of inconveniences, resignations, and familiarity we will carry with us long after the isolation and distancing are over. It will be a time for everyone to think about the space they need: shelter.
The spider web-shaped structure filled the entrance to the house, like a trap; so it was essential for visitors to brush past or to try to avoid the huge structure while trying to enter the interior space of the Science Cabin. In addition, the structure of the space was constructed to allow direct entry in four places. Although the entrances of each structure did not directly connect, they were clearly connected by the fabric that surrounded the structures. People could experience self-isolation inside the structure, although it is unclear whether the space could protect them from something they really wanted to escape.
This work was an attempt to explore new spaces that humans need, by capturing our current appearance rather than conveying the message that we should live in the current era. Darae hopes that this work, which brought together many first-time experiences from the unexpected Covid-19 era, will give us a better understanding of the series of inconveniences, resignations, and familiarity we will carry with us long after the isolation and distancing are over. It will be a time for everyone to think about the space they need: shelter.
이 작업은 작가가 UNIST 사이언스 월든 과일집 레지던시에 입주해 2주 동안 격리된 상태로 제작된 작품이다. 작가는 지난여름 장생포에서 레지던시를 진행할 때 모기를 피해 작은 방에 가득 차는 모기장을 설치하고 지낸 적이 있는데, 그때 느낀 편안함과 다양한 감정들이 자가 격리 시대를 사는 자신의 모습과 닮아 있다고 느낀다. 작은 벌레를 피하고자 모기장에 들어가는 과한 노력과 격리에서 느끼는 허구적인 안정감의 아이러니를 자신만의 공간을 통해 새롭게 재현하고자 했다. 과일집 내부에 모기장을 설치하고, 목탄과 페인트를 사용해 작업을 진행했다. 설치된 4개의 모기장은 개별적으로 존재하면서도 위에서 이들을 덮는 다른 모기장을 통해 하나로 묶여 있다. 이 모기장에는 목탄과 페인트가 뿌려져 있어 외부에서 들어오는 빛에 따라 그 색이 계속해서 변화한다. 이 공간은 격리의 공간이지만 격리될 수 없는 공간이다. 작업에서는 코로나19 사태를 경험하고 있는 사회의 면면이 녹아 들어 있다. 모기장에 페인트와 목탄을 뿌리면서 재료들이 모기장에 온전하게 묻어나지 않고 허무하게 통과하는 장면에서 작가는 격리 상황의 허무함을 느끼는 동시에, 햇볕이 비추면서 투명해지고 또 새로운 색을 발하는 모기장에 아름다움을 느꼈다.
거미줄처럼 생긴 공간은 과일집 입구를 가득 채우고 있어 방문하는 이들이 과일집의 내부공간으로 들어오기 위해서는 이 덫과 같은 거대한 구조물을 스치거나 피하는 떨어지기(거리 두기) 행위가 필수적이다. 또한, 공간의 구조물은 네 개의 형태로 이루어져 사람이 직접 들어갈 수 있게 제작되었고 각각의 구조물의 입구가 직접적으로 서로 통하지는 않지만, 구조물들을 감싸고 있는 천을 통해 확실히 이어져 있다. 이 공간은 자체 격리를 위한 공간으로, 사람들은 구조물 안으로 들어가 자체격리를 체험해 볼 수 있다. 비록 그 공간이 그들이 진정으로 막고 싶은 무언가 에서 그들을 보호해 줄 수 있을지는 미지수라 하여도 그들은 자신을 공간에 격리할 수 있다.
이번 작업은 우리가 이 시대를 어떻게 살아가야 한다는 메시지를 전하기보단 현재 우리의 모습을 그대로 담아 인간과 우리에게 필요한 새로운 공간을 탐험해보고자 했던 시도이다. 모두가 처음 경험해보는 예상치 못한 코로나19 시대를 새로운 시도로 엮어내는 이번 작업을 통해 이 격리와 거리 두기가 끝난 이후에도 우리가 안고 갈 일련의 불편함, 체념, 익숙함 등을 더 잘 이해할 수 있도록 있기를 희망하며, 모두가 자신에게 필요한 공간 즉 은신처를 생각해 볼 수 있는 시간이 되기를 바란다.