Life, as we perceive it, is experienced through the five commonly acknowledged senses—sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch. However, beneath this familiar framework lies a domain of dormant senses that further assist in translating and transcending tangible perceptions. For instance, the pull of intuition, contemplative calmness or the sense of time ebbing and flowing as an unseen tide, shaped by how we engage with the colours and textures around us. Could we be missing out on experiencing life's many intricate registers by relying solely on just the five senses?
South Korean ceramicist Jisook Jung's Sense Collection beckons an inquiry and engagement into discovering the more diverse and delicate sense perceptions beyond the five we know. In this new series, Jung transforms her own sensory experiences into charming characters in clay, creating and manifesting many perceptions in a way that resonates easily. At her recent and now concluded solo exhibition in Taipei's Simple Object gallery, held from November 16 – December 1, 2024, the Seoul-based artist presented this collection, an imaginative assortment of embodied senses often overlooked yet inherently vital in understanding our shared humanity.
The ceramic artist comments on the showcased Sense Collection, "The countless inspirations that emerged by comprehensively operating the five human senses are organised into intuitive images so that people can easily understand and sympathise with them… I prepared this exhibition's work by embodying some of the countless senses observed as characters. Characters, each with unique characteristics, [walked] around the exhibition hall and [hung] out with each other."
The ceramic collection features a vibrant assemblage of 24 senses which "help us understand and love humans as creatures, and were selected and embodied as characters", Jung tells STIR. "Each character is a variety of intuitive images of the senses that work in response to the world," she adds.
Jung's clay art animates and personifies the intangible: Here, a stout, blood-red form with blunt spikes all over stands on four legs (Sharp), while (Green Energy), an algae-green figurine with its hair sticking out stares blankly with beady eyes. Daydream is fluffy and white, a foamy cloud with a nose and eyes and comically sans limbs. Potential, on the other hand, is a bulbous pink figure hugging itself, in contrast to Flow, a windy blue character with snowy legs seemingly half in motion.
Jung goes on to describe Wriggle as a particularly challenging character to shape from the collection. "Due to the material nature of soft clay, it is not easy to form a shape that is vulnerable to gravity," she explains. Wriggle's striped, slender and animalistic form stands opposing the ground, symbolising resilience amid instability.
These figures, selected for their 'cuteness', hold deeper meanings according to their creator, as they explore themes of vitality, interconnectedness and the tenuous balance of existence. By creating with lumps of clay forms with limbs, eyes and vibrant personalities, the contemporary artist redefines the relationship between humanity and the sensory world.
"I wanted to create a [piece of] work that had a great sensory stimulation to the viewers," Jung comments on her tactile use of clay in the Sense Collection. The malleable material is embellished with rough textures and granular surfaces in the presented series, stimulating visual as well as visceral engagement. Solid primary colours dominate the employed palette, creating a euphoric interplay between the visual and the perceptible. The characters' organically carved contours and minimal design features exude simplicity while embodying profound narratives.
"Since humans have a different universe, we cannot fully understand each other forever. However, we are all creatures, homo sapiens, and each individual has almost the same sensory system," the South Korean artist iterates. Jung seeks to remind viewers of the importance of a well-functioning sensuous system, not merely for survival but for deeper empathy, joy and self-love.
"I think if the mind and body are healthy and our senses work smoothly, we would be able to understand and love ourselves and each other better," she believes. Jung's ceramic art figurines in the Sense Collection serve as a euphemism for life's contrasting simplicities and complexities, urging a reconnection with raw, unfiltered perceptions to uncover its hidden sensory layers.
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