J  a  e   S  o  n  g

JAE SONG

Born in South Korea

Based Brooklyn NY, Detroit MI

 

I relocated from Korea to the United States at the age of five. I have strong memories of being alone in groups, being frustrated and unable to express myself in English. This feeling of otherness has led me to seek refuge in private spaces and to create privacy within public spaces (which is how I feel experiencing artworks in galleries). The simultaneous existence of these different spaces is what drives me to work with installation as an art form. 

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Some things I remember:

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1. When I was 13 my sister played Depeche Mode's New Dress in the car and explained the lyrics to my father about how there are all these atrocities in the world and people just care about Princess Di's new dress.  How do we live in a world knowing others are experiencing horrors.

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2. Had to write a book report in early high school (or younger).  The book was on the environment.  There was a statement saying we see nature as the great outdoors but in reality we are all inside nature.  This completely blew my mind.

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3. Picked up a Martha Rosler book from the library because of the pictures of empty airports but two texts are what I remember.    First, that what we do is not for us now but for future generations.  Second, that we are constantly struggling with the fear of being an individual and being rejected or being a part of a mob and loosing one's self.  

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