June 26 - July 9, 2022

Above: still images from “Diary Dreams for Three”

Tell us about the two artworks you submitted. What makes them unique?

"Diary Dreams for Three is an evocative tropical-fever induced video artwork that explores the fragmentation of digital identities in relation to the construction of virtual worlds. The video centers around a figure that is either fabricating or being fabricated by a slowly rotating fantastical world she is situated in. Hence, her movement is nuanced and deliberate, yet confusing. The colorful audiovisual experience is driven by a poetic assemblage of digital artifacts and speculative aquatic creatures that become vehicles and invitational cues for viewers to traverse in believable, plausible, parallel, alternative multiverse blobospheric worlds fabricated through the imaginative narratives triggered by the viewer’s own personal fictions. Remixing lyrics written by popular musicians with private diary notes contemplating my responsibility as an Asian-American woman artist who uses the body as an intentional conduit for materializing intangible thoughts and curious provocations, I hope viewers find a magical key to unlock their own special cabinet of curiosities.”

“Time-Piece is a looping dual-channel video work that travels through experiential and perceptual timepieces that remind us of the temporality of time in relation to natural phenomena and technological artifacts. Marking the Big Bang as its origin, our perception of time is one that predates our existence - a concept we have constructed and normalized our behaviors to. There once was a time when mechanical computation and the measurement of time was not a technological possibility. Brewing wondrous supernatural myths about the unknown and heightening our reliance on natural phenomena such as the passing of seasons and internal-clockworking of animals, we were more observant to immediate changes unraveling before our eyes. To grasp the ungraspable passing of time, we invented machinations and machines to work on our behalf. Thoughtfully providing ourselves with the illusion of control out of reconciliation and convenience, we saw our dependence continue to rise as we permitted our desires to supersede our needs. As we further travel through time and approach the twenty-first century, we see advancements in transportation helping us travel across long-distances in short periods of time and developments in affordable and readily available communication devices providing us with the opportunity to quickly connect with people from around the world. With the deepening relationship with synthetic technological artifacts, our dependence on the environment and natural resources will resume and the inner workings of these forces will only shine through when we are able to carefully look beyond the systems we have presented ourselves with.”

Tell us about yourself: How did you come to be an artist in video/digital media?

“I was introduced to video and performance art towards the end of my bachelor studies. From embodying various personas to appropriating pop-cultural tropes, I was enamored by time-based arts and the creative freedom it gave me to frame and reframe my body, digitally remix and reimagine my identity, and perform stories that surface the complexities of being human in the real-time-now. Fifteen years or so has passed, and although I no longer feel loyal to a specific medium, I am still mesmerized by how much joy it brings me to make, share, and talk to others about what I do. I continue to be prolific, creating work about the poetics of everyday experiences that are inscribed within my body, in collaboration with those of others around me. I now live and work in the company of neighboring squirrels, birds, and wild rabbits, making art and sharing what I have learned thus far with students as an Assistant Professor of Visual and Performing Arts at The University of Texas at Dallas.”

"Diary Dreams for Three" & "TIME-PIECE" by Laura Hyunjhee Kim