2020
Deoksugung, Seoul

mixed media
95x124x180cm

Jihyun Jung conscientiously examines the spaces we live in and attempts to capture the reverse side of things. Jung’s practice is built around subverting and transforming existing systems by conceptually or physically deconstructing and reassembling facets of everyday objects. Every Haetae is a piece inspired by the “Haetae” sculptures installed by the main stairs outside Junghwajeon Hall of Deoksugung Palace. Jung evokes a number of observations through this piece: the various levels of corrosion and textures throughout Deoksugung Palace, the sense of temporality manifested in those surfaces, traditional beliefs around the protective creature Haetae, and the materiality of the Korean granite that limited the depiction of the worshiped beast. Jung presents his own take of Haetae the “every day” Haetae, rid of its monumental status by combining the roughly carved Haetae sculpture in Deoksugung Palace and the symbolic reclining lion sculpture from Italy.