“콩글리쉬 (Konglish)”는 멀티디시플리너리 작가인 김연진의 텍스타일, 중,고등학교 교과서 시리즈, 드로잉, 애니메이션 그리고 단편영화를 아우르는 한국에서 첫 개인전이다. 서울 출신인 작가는 15년 전 미국으로 이주하여 작업하며 페어리 디킨슨 대학과 뉴욕 주립대학에서 강의를 해왔다.  김연진 작가는 서구 미술이 주를 이루는 교육과정을거쳤으나  한국의 도자기와 텍스타일의 디자인에 큰 관심을 가져왔다. 작가와 한국과의 거리는 작가의 어린시절에 익숙한  한국의 미학과 전통에 새로운 관점과 관심을 가지게 되는 계기가 되었다. 

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작가는 어린시절에 한복집을 하는 큰어머니가 작가의 가족에게 선물한 조각보를 처음 접한다.  그 조각보의 고유한 아름다움에 영향을 받은 작가는 뉴욕과 서울에서 수집한비닐 봉지를 실로 꿰매는 조각보의 전통을 업데이트한 작품을 만들기 시작한다. 한국의 조각보와 다른 문화권에서 퀼트의 공통점은 조각천을 재활용하여 재창조하는 것이지만 차이점은 한국 조각보의 디자인과 구성은 즉흥적이고 패턴이 자유로운데 있다. “플라스틱 조각보”는 그러한 디자인과 작가의 큰어머니의 바느질을 오마쥬한 시리즈이다.

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작가의 외부자 시선은 “교과서” 시리즈에서도 볼 수 있다. 작가가 중,고등학교 시절 공부한 가정, 가사는 여학생들을 대상으로 가부장적이고 사회에서 억압적인 여성의 역할을 강조, 강화하고, 교련은 북한을 주적으로 규정하고 전시중 여성의 역할을 남성과 가정을 보살피고 간호하는데 한정시켰다. “가사" (1984년 출판, 중학교 교과서)와  모든교과서에 수록되었던 “국민교육 헌장"에서 작가는 레이스 패턴을 이용하여 독재 정부가 만들어낸 주입식 내러티브를 해체한다. 레이스 패턴은 또한  획일화된 사회에서 개개인의 성향은 무시되고 사회구성원의 일부, 즉 패턴의 일부로만 성장하게 유도하는 시대적 상황을 반영하기도 한다. “가정” (1980년대 출판, 중학교 교과서)은 돋보기와 태양을 이용하여 천천히 태워 구멍을 내는 방식으로 만들어졌다. 느리지만 지속적인 방식이 어린 학생들에게 억압적인 지식을 주입하는 과정과 유사하다. “교련" (1990년 출판, 고등학교 교과서)에는 좀 더 작가의 개인적인 이야기가 숨겨져 있다. 교련 교과서에 숨겨진 mp3 플레이어에서는 작가의 유년시절에 겪은 독재정권의 공포에 관한 에피소드가 반복 재생된다. 

가사 3 (중학교 교과서, 1984년 출판, 국정교과서 주식회사 발행)_컷-아웃 레이스_15x21cm_2020

가사 3 (중학교 교과서, 1984년 출판, 국정교과서 주식회사 발행)_컷-아웃 레이스_15x21cm_2020

김연진 작가의 이민자로서 관점은 내러티브 비디오에서 다른 방식으로 재생된다. 내러티브 비디오는 스크롤 드로잉과 종이 등으로 만들어진 정교한 미니어쳐 모델을 배경으로 다양한 로우-테크 애니메이션 기법으로  촬영된다. 이런 비디오들은 종종 판타스틱한 내러티브가 주가 되는데, 그 중 하나는 도시만한 크기의 우주선에서 하루 동안 일어나는 일을, 또 다른 작품에서는 여러 이상한 동식물이 점령한 미지의 정글에서 일어나는 일을 묘사한다. 또 다른 작품들에서는 유령이나 괴물이 주인공이 되기도 한다. 내러티브 비디오 “Ghost in the Yellow House”는 작가의 미국으로 이민 간 사촌이 직접 겪은 실화를 극화한 작품이다.  주인공이 사회적으로 고립된 상황에서 느끼는 언어 장벽과 소외감은 백인 여성 형태의 유령에 의해 더욱 심화되고 주인공의 아메리칸 드림 또한 산산조각나게 된다.

Ghost in the Yellow House_싱글채널 비디오_러닝타임 20:01_2018

전시에 포함된 드로잉과 드로잉 애니메이션은 작가의 자연과 현상에 관한 관심을 반영하고 있다. 

서울의 도시환경에서 자란 작가는 미국의 많은 곳은 여행하면서 경험하게 된 자연이 주는  불편함과 생소함( unfamiliarity)에 주목하였다. 작가의 드로잉 시리즈“Phenomenon” 와  “Inklings”, 두편의 애니메이션은 자연이 주는 불확실성과 알수 없는 존재의 통제할 수 없는 빠른 번식에 대한 두려움, 그리고 자연 안에 갖혀 있는 개인의 분열과 혼란함을  표현한 작품이다. 

Inklings_멀티채널 드로잉 애니메이션_러닝타임 00:30_2009

 Konglish is a small survey of Yeon Jin Kim’s multidisciplinary practice, highlighting her textiles, cut-paper book works and animated drawings, as well as her narrative films.  

Born and educated in Seoul, she moved fifteen years ago to New York City where she continues to work and to teach at Fairleigh Dickinson University and Westchester Community College. Kim`s years away from Korea provided an outside vantage point allowing her a greater understanding and appreciation of the Korean aesthetics and traditions that she was immersed in as a child. Although she was presented in school with Western aesthetics as a priority, she was always drawn to the beauty of Korean ceramics and textiles.  

As a child Kim was introduced to Jogakbo by her aunt who owned a Hanbok shop. 

Her aunt was particularly talented in traditional Korean arts and her visually sophisticated Jogakbo were sometimes gifted to family members. It was one of these uniquely beautiful pieces, given to Kim by her mother, that inspired her to update this traditional Korean art form by stitching together pieces of commercial plastic bags found on the streets of New York City and Seoul. As in traditional Jogakbo, the scrap elements have all been previously used and are sewn together to create improvisatory compositions.

Another body of work influenced by Kim`s expatriate perspective is a series of book works. For example, she has cut intricate lace patterns into the pages of “Home Economics for Girls” and “War Preparation for Girls”, text books from her school years in Seoul designed to prepare girls to take care of the boys who would be injured in the inevitable war with communist North Korea.The lace patterns interrupt the indoctrinating narrative that stoked fear of communism as an instrument of control. The patterns also reflect the fact that girls were themselves being trained to be part of a pattern - of people - yielding group-think and conformity. In another piece Kim inserted an mp3 player inside a textbook with an audio component describing a personal experience she had at age nine which introduced her to fear of the dictatorship. She has also made pieces by slowly, meditationally burning holes through the text books, using the sun and a magnifying glass: close and persistent investigation burning holes through governmental indoctrination. 

 Kim`s narrative videos are shot from scroll drawings and elaborate miniature models and characters made from cardboard, paper, and other materials. This deliberately low-tech process is often combined with various animation techniques. 

 Recent video pieces include a story that takes place on a city-sized spaceship, a jungle where once extinct species return and join new hybrids, a monster/comedy and a ghost story. For example, “Ghost in the Yellow House” is based on her cousin’s experience moving to upstate New York from Korea to live with her  husband and newborn child. As she experiences alienation, language issues and social isolation, her American dream disintegrates and she experiences a hostile ghost in the form of a white woman. 

Also Included in the exhibition are drawings, animated drawings and brief animated videos that explore Kim`s fascination with the natural world and its processes. Having grown up in the urban environment of Seoul, Kim was awakened to a range of unfamiliar natural phenomena through her extensive travels in the U.S. Her drawing series “Phenomenon” and her animated drawings “Inklings” are responses to Kim`s feelings of uncertainty and fear of the power of nature and its uncontrollable proliferation.