Cindy Ji Hye Kim
The Celibate Machine
Organized by Jonah Porter
April 6 – May 6, 2018
Opening Reception April 6, 6-9pm
Interstate Projects is pleased to present The Celibate Machine, a solo exhibition by Cindy Ji Hye Kim. Utilizing vernacular art-making methods, her work locates visual production on a continuum of consumption that acts as a seamless buffer between horror and entertainment. The exhibition is comprised of a mural, projected animation, sound, and sculptures.
Developed in the 1930s and used as an American military ration during WWII, SPAM was introduced on the Korean peninsula by American G.I.s during the Korean War. Due to a shortage of available meat products, SPAM soon became a staple ingredient of Korean cuisine, and is often given as a gift during holidays.
This process of production and assimilation imbued with a legacy of violence represents a kind of well functioning machine, one that Kim describes as “a routine transformation of the foreign to the cherished, the imitation to the authentic.”
In a similar way, Rotoscoping—an animation technique that traces the frames of live action footage to simulate the effects of realistic motion— merges the photo-realism of its source material with the convenience of cartoon abstraction, producing an uncanny result akin to a chimeric masquerade.
These visual mechanisms of perpetual production and consumption operate just out of sight—whirling machines generating a tender fluidity, narrowing the gaps between individual frames to generate the sensation of seamless integration, an endless loop of ingestion.
The works included in this exhibition offer peeking glimpses behind the smooth facade of mass-appeal, exposing the underlying histories, narratives and enchanting perversity embedded in the everyday.
Cindy Ji Hye Kim (b. 1990, Anyang, South Korea) lives and works in Bronx, NY. Her work has been featured in solo presentations at Helena Anrather, NY; YYZ Artists’; Outlet, Toronto; and Rose, Brooklyn. She has shown in group exhibitions at Foxy Production, NY; DC Moore, NY; Thierry Goldberg Gallery, NY; Topless, Rockaway Beach; and the Abrons Art Center, NY.
Jonah Porter (b.1992) is Interstate Project’s 2018 Curatorial Fellow. He is an artist and curator based in New York. His work has been exhibited at Material Art Fair (CDMX), American Medium (BK), and Littman and White Galleries (PDX). He holds a BFA from the Pacific Northwest College of Art.
Cindy Ji Hye Kim
The Celibate Machine