Cais Gallery de Eu-Jung Ju

Texte de Eun-Jung JU, commissaire indépendant, paru dans le catalogue de l’exposition de Yin Qi à la Cais Gallery à Séoul en 2005

Yin Qi displays works of various objects quarantined in the space of the pictorial plane, pained with an indifferent gaze. The objects are usually elements that constitute a secret and private inner space such as beds, sofas and bathtubs. But the objects are placed outside the normal situation [context] in which they are commonly used, giving us a sense of crudity and strangeness, even though they are familiar objects in the spaces of our daily lives such as the living room or bedroom. The objects left alone, alienated in obscure and anonymous spaces, no longer evoke any sentiment. Thus, Yin Qi’s works show only the subject itself, by eliminating the psychological and special contexts from the subject. The subject within the work without its “ halo” is only a physical mass, and not an object within intimate relations with spectators. The objects placed in the space of the picture are mere objects, and do not leave any clues to allow further interpretation other than meets the eye. Therefore, the gaze of the spectator, which tries to decipher its way to the other side of the exterior, is rejected and blocked.

The artist’s works, which show the physical mass, limiting spectators to grasp the subject only with their eyes and not their heads, do not demonstrate precise depiction. On the contrary, they only reveal the rough form of the object through a simplified expression method. That is why his work makes us note the painting itself, particularly the formativeness of expression, rather than the object in the painting. Drawing our attention in his work are the thick layers of paint. The thickness of the paint used in the work is a means to depict the object, but at the same time, it is also a physical entity that forms the painting. Thus, the paint presents itself as mass with physical weight, volume and density. In result, the works of Yin Qi strongly reveal the fact that the painting itself is a physical existence as in the case of the objects depicted in the works. This thick layer of paint cuts off all possibilities of seeking significance of the work beyond the surface of the painting, by not leaving any room for interpretation as expressive and passionate gestures of the artist through the mechanism of the “indifferent perspective”. Yin Qi’s works, which only show the objects as physical existences that can be captured visually, and say that everything is what you see and there is nothing more beyond, are quite material in terms of theme and expression method, but nevertheless, not so concrete or clear. On the contrary, they create an irony, in which the works appear as floating, obscure and unrealistic illusions. The works of Yin QI tell us the variety of fast-emerging Chinese contemporary art. He do not produce works that look upon the reality of China from a cold and critical viewpoint, but sedately and earnestly share his reflections on how to perceive his surrounding world and art, and what kind of beings he is as he face that world. It is my hope that through this artist, we may escape from our fixed and biased perceptions on Chinese contemporary art and discover a new aspect.
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