Installation view
of 《Plot, Blop, Plop》 ©Ayoung Kim and Hermès Foundation. Photo: Sangtae Kim.Atelier
Hermès presents Ayoung Kim’s solo exhibition 《Plot,
Blop, Plop》 until June 1.
Introducing
new works, this exhibition momentarily pauses the accelerated expansion of
space-time, akin to centrifugal force, to anchor itself at a specific point in
20th-century history—a longstanding motif in the artist’s practice.
The
playfully worded title, “Plot, Blop, Plop,” reflects Kim’s contemplation on
contemporary geopolitical crises, which unfold simultaneously and invasively.
It signals her renewed engagement with the ongoing conflicts in oil-rich
regions.
Installation view
of 《Plot, Blop, Plop》 ©Ayoung Kim and Hermès Foundation. Photo: Sangtae Kim.Previously,
through her 2014–2015 trilogy ‘Zepheth, Whale Oil from the Hanging Garden to
You, Shell,’ Kim explored petroleum as a "magical liquid capital" in
the form of sonic fiction and music theater. With this exhibition, she seeks to
give visual form to the project.
The works focus on the Al-Mather apartment
complex in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, weaving together macro and micro-historical
narratives. Through fragmented historical data, personal memories of her
father, long-term research, on-site visits, and interviews, Kim constructs a
layered narrative about this residential complex.
The exhibition examines oil capitalism’s
rise and movement, South Korean corporations’ involvement in the Middle East,
the oil crisis, the Gulf War, and the transformation of Al-Mather from a
refugee shelter into a wealthy enclave.
Installation view
of 《Plot, Blop, Plop》 ©Ayoung Kim and Hermès Foundation. Photo: Sangtae Kim.A decade
after her initial research on the Middle East, Kim now actively employs
generative AI, game engine CGI, and LiDAR scanning to reconstruct these
historical gaps, visualizing time and space we have never directly experienced.
The
exhibition also features a chorus of algorithm-generated narratives derived
from Kim’s original text on the origins of oil, a spatial installation of
Al-Mather’s floor plans juxtaposed with Gulf War military maps, and dramatic
lighting that intensifies the sense of crisis, creating a multisensory
experience.
Ultimately,
the exhibition invites reflection on the limits of rentier capitalism in
oil-dependent nations, the homogenization of modernization, the erasure of
diversity, and the history of greed and conflict entangled with oil.
Ji Yeon Lee has been working as an editor for the media art and culture channel AliceOn since 2021 and worked as an exhibition coordinator at samuso (now Space for Contemporary Art) from 2021 to 2023.
