Hysteria, a temporary state of agitation caused by psychological neurosis, is the inspiration for Jeamin Cha’s new solo exhibition Hysterics. The works focus on how individuals cope when suffering on an everyday basis with irrational situations, analyzing and unraveling their perception and emotional state.
From April 16 – May 14, 2015, Doosan Gallery New York will open its doors to the show, which will be Cha’s New York debut featuring five single-channel video works as well as three drawings revealing the artist’s creative process.
Autodidact (2014) was initiated by a meeting with Mr. Hur, a family member of a victim of a suspicious death in the military. Hur is the father of Won Keun Hur, who lost his life in 1984 during the Fifth Republic of Korea. The show presents close-ups of the forensic documents and handwritten notes that Youngchun Hur studied on his own, after teching himself forensic medicine, in the hope it would help reveal the truth.
The video shows (see the trailer here) magnified images of the investigative materials with an audio track of two people reading plays in the background. First, it’s read by Hur himself, then the same script is repeated by a young man, perhaps in his early 20s. The script took its inspiration from conversations with Mr. Hur about his 30 year struggle to reveal the truth while being under the control of state authority. They discuss topics like politics, life, and his forensic evidence.
Cha cleverly uses her videos to represent social conflicts and discord while restraining from having to directly explain them.