leebul

CyborgW2,1998.
Silicone, polyurethane filling, paint pigment,185x74x58 cm.

" There are two currents of thought in my work with the cyborgs. The first in that it references and elaborates on popular imagery borrowed from cyborgs in animations and films, but my cyborgs are all missing organs or limbs, so they are incomplete bodies in a sense, questioning the myth of technological perfection.

  The other idea is to invoke archetypal images of women, art-historical representations of femininity, particularly in Western art history - the Pieta, Botticelli's the Birth of Venus, or Manet's Olympia - by rendering these cyborgs in those timeless, iconic, feminine poses. So the original conception for the cyborgs began with animation images especially Japanese anime and manga, which are prevalent in Korea as well.

  Much more so than Western images of robots and super-action heroes that are feminine, the Japanese and similar Korean cyborgs combine an ultra-violent, dystopian aspect with some mythical iedas about femininity, so you have cyborgs which have superhuman powers but aiso with recognizably feminine physical features and the characteristics of girls. Interestingly, these cyborgs always have a master, usually a young man or boy who programs and controls them. In essence, there is superhuman power, the cult of technology, and girlish vulnerability working in ambiguous concert within this image of the cyborg, and that's what interests me. "

        - from interview with hans-Ulrich Obrist




	CyborgW2,1998. Silicone, polyurethane filling, paint pigment,185x74x58 cm.
	" There are two currents of thought in my work with the cyborgs. The first in that it references and elaborates on popular imagery borrowed from cyborgs in animations and films, but my cyborgs are all missing organs or limbs, so they are incomplete bodies in a sense, questioning the myth of technological perfection. The other idea is to invoke archetypal images of women, art-historical representations of femininity, particularly in Western art history - the Pieta, Botticelli's the Birth of Venus, or Manet's Olympia - by rendering these cyborgs in those timeless, iconic, feminine poses. So the original conception for the cyborgs began with animation images especially Japanese anime and manga, which are prevalent in Korea as well. Much more so than Western images of robots and super-action heroes that are feminine, the Japanese and similar Korean cyborgs combine an ultra-violent, dystopian aspect with some mythical iedas about femininity, so you have cyborgs which have superhuman powers but aiso with recognizably feminine physical features and the characteristics of girls. Interestingly, these cyborgs always have a master, usually a young man or boy who programs and controls them. In essence, there is superhuman power, the cult of technology, and girlish vulnerability working in ambiguous concert within this image of the cyborg, and that's what interests me. " - from interview with hans-Ulrich Obrist