Korean artist Jong Ho Ji's sculptures - fabricated from old tyres - recall the sleek menace of Giger's Sil from Species (1995) and the gods and monsters of ancient mythology. Some of Ji's creations appear powerful and militarised - like bio-mechanical weapons striding into battle, while others look like victims of ill-advised experiments.
"An oneiric fascination with the terror and awe implicit to scientific discovery informs Yong Ho Ji's sculptural practice, for which the artist plays dual roles of skilled artisan and mad doctor. Meticulously layering cut strips of tire as the flesh for his "mutants," Yong Ho Ji models his creatures after endangered animals, mythological beings, and humanoids akin to his favorite superheroes. Underlying his unique brand of science fiction monster making is a startlingly specific, poetically lucid, ethical critique of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), based on his skepticism towards those "who seek to challenge nature by creating an entirely new form of life through modifying genes of animals, plants, and human beings." Scientifically speaking, Ji's mutants are emblematic of Darwin's evolutionary theory, which states that mutations may evolve species better adapted to their environments. Some of his mutants inherit handsome traits (long necks or muscular hind quarters), while others inherit the abhorrent traits (multiple heads) typical of Lovecraftian sci-fi imagery. The mouse with the human ear stitched onto his back; the man's heart replaced by a pig's—these are the debatable technological advances comprising Yong Ho Ji's resistance to mutation tainted by human interference, in which "the original identity of all natural living creatures may one day disappear."
from Mutant Mythos by Trine Dalton
Wow! I find these quite beautiful! Whether it's because of the constant flow of their skin or the sadness in the deep black eyes. Who would have thought old tyres could look so nice! :D
ReplyDeletewhat sort of material is used for the sculptures? there magnificent.
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