Change of Direction


The project of ‘Change of direction’ is to construct sexual difference in representation by defining in terms of bodily parts marked culturally, socially as feminine.
In my project, I would like to show an ethics of sexual difference that what the status of the other’s difference is, how it is generated and related to my identity and experience.

The first project ‘Change of Direction - I like women like you’, I presented imagery women that I found the graffiti on the street by time-based videos and installations. I did several pubic and personal performances at the place where the graffiti was placed and studio from September 2004 to May 2005. I expended my work wall installations of multiple, labelled images that I have affected by cultural differences between east and west. With binary opposition men and women, in the second project ‘I am hungry’, I showed the composition of legs by flash movies with still image photographs which reflected on differences that were included gender, culture and society. Still images from pornography poster reminded me discrimination by gender. Discussions about how the female body should be represented in feminist art were affected by parallel and very public debates about pornography. Eroticized, objectified, fragmented and sometimes abused, pornography too many feminists seemed to be the paradigm for all male representations of the female body. However, under the body images from graffiti and poster, I expressed sarcastically changed male images with sense of humour.

In new series ‘Jumping Jumping’, I tried to show body work of women that were closely linked to ‘Positive’ images of revised femininity. What the positive images are that I think more sociable, active and powerful state in life. ‘Jumping Jumping’ is an expression of the position of women who are oppressed by social, cultural and political situation. I represented installation with framed photographs and fabrics that were drawn by eggs, tofu and black ink and I covered all of the walls. On the covered wall, I did installation with labelled photo frames and drawings. I also made three movies that were different style of ‘Jumping’s. I would like to make one voice with installation and videos. Videos are divided into three versions - Jumping with eggs, tofu, and jumping at home and I used same music and time. In three videos, I inserted the music ‘Arias for Farinelli’ by ‘Vivica Genaux’ because I found the ambiguous boundary of gender. All the materials that I used in videos are symbolic objects. ‘Egg’ is a metaphorical object of the voice of women and stands for situation of women between inside and outside in their life. In my movie, I jumped with eggs and crushed, stepped on feet with strong body movement but broken eggs still got the power of viscosity that made trail on the floor and body. If power takes hold on body, this is not through its having first to be interiorised in people’s consciousness. I have focused on the lower part of body because I wanted to show the extremely exaggerated movement of legs with subtle detail.
‘Tofu’ is a turning point to think different direction which is the way to see others, social issues, and broadly world. Before making this movie, above all, I supposed ‘Tofu’ was the emblem of weakness and smoothness. Next step, I reversed supposition that I made. I thought conversely that ‘Tofu’ has energy to affect other objects and makes other things dirty. From the small differences of thinking, I can start new standard of women with diverse view. In this movie, I jumped with tofu wearing black tights and break and stepped on tofu. Firstly, I would like to make an extreme case that is the reason why I chose black and white materials. Secondly, I would like to express the weakness that seemed to be affected by others has the most powerful energy. Lastly, the change of thinking is the challenging of the new world. That is why with fabrics, I covered and removed the trail that I made on the floor by Tofu. Ironically, I jumped on the same place repeatedly. I think that is a situation in which I am placed as a woman as well as the reflection of women.

In conclusion, through all of my works, what I really want to show is how the women are place in this society how we have to think different direction in terms of feminism. In my opinion, women may reach the most reasonable state when men and women attempt to make the harmony with equality and love. Based on the body movement of women, I presented the power relationship between weakness and strength and expressed the state of women who have lived in this period. I also suggested that we should think conversely at least once for new challenge and the world. Lastly, I would like to say ‘Change of Direction’ when you meet the most comfortable situation in your life.