Artists

“Form follows function”, or so the saying goes. In Yoonsuk Park’s (she/her) work, however, form has a tendency to wander off course. Familiar objects sprout bodily features, shift their weight or require us to reconsider exactly how we are supposed to behave around them. Function remains, but the rules are no longer quite as stable.
Park’s sculptures explore the relationships that form between bodies, objects and the people around them. By inviting visitors to interact with the work, she brings their own movements and weight into play. Balance is therefore never something we achieve and hold, but a continuous negotiation: every movement produces another adjustment, every shift asks for a response.
Perhaps equilibrium is less about staying still than getting good at wobbling?

Many of your works bring strangers into a shared experience. What interests you about these encounters?
I’m interested in what happens when people encounter an object that no longer follows its familiar function and have to find a new way to activate it. When several people are involved, others become variables in this process. I pay attention to how they adjust their distance, cooperate, create tension, and communicate without words. I’m interested in how these encounters reveal relationships through movement, proximity, and mutual adjustment.

What changes the moment visitors take off their shoes to experience your work fully?
Shoes are highly socialized objects. Taking them off can sometimes feel like an intimate or even embarrassing act, especially in a public space. I want visitors to experience this small discomfort and briefly step outside a familiar social rule, becoming more aware of their bodies, weight, and gravity. Once their shoes are placed under the table, they also become part of its balance. A personal action can then affect both the work and the experience of others.