Series of Dynamic Compositions
Julia Dahee Hong
(2018)
Julia Dahee Hong’s practice involves photography, sculpture, drawing, and writing as a way to examine the notions of labour in relation to globalization, cultural hybridity and cultural pluralism. Hong identifies culturally specific objects and elements from commonplace environments by creating dialogues between specific materials and narratives that are associated with the history of early modern and modern globalization.
The series of inkjet prints on canvas titled “Dynamic Compositions” is based on cropped details of high quality product photography of sports drinks available on online web shops. The cropped photographs were inkjet printed on canvas, which was then ordered online (printing service), and finally resin was poured on the surface, referring back to the fluidity of the Sports drink while simultaneously creating the simulacrum a slyly modernist monochrome painting.
For this series, the vast resources and services that are available on the internet, make it possible for the reproduction of high quality images, and the competitive online services constantly promote low prices that are even lower with quantity. These sports drinks are marketed with false promises that are almost convincing when paired along with an image of a young, healthy, maybe recent world champion of some sport. These electrolyte based physical performance enhancing drinks in the demanding reality of capitalism are indeed questionable––what’s interesting is our strangely antagonistic yet similar ways that we try to maintain our ability to perform at the high level demanded by the productive predicaments of contemporary life. The pressure and expectation (from society) to perform better than before (progress/productivity), better than the others around you (competition) could have any individual reaching out for one of these ergonomic plastic bottles in desperate hopes that the contained neon coloured liquid could aid them before or after their anticipated ‘performance’.