Frankenstein, R. U. R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots) and Upgrade in Progress. What do Mary Shelley’s literary work, Karel Čapek’s drama and Geumhyung Jeong’s first solo show have in common? The common thread running through two hundred years of history holding these experiences together – casually knotting them a century apart: 1818, 1920 and 2020 – is represented by the fact that in each of them we witness the creation of new beings : from the creature consisting of anatomical parts taken from corpses, we move on to human-looking androids – defined for the first time as “robots” – up to humanoid “toys” that the South Korean artist assembles with her hands, which they seem to be somewhere between the previous two. The similarities, however, do not end there.

Set up at Fondazione Modena Arti Visive, Palazzina dei Giardini in Modena, the exhibition, open until June 2, 2020, is the evolution of the previous Homemade RC Toy (2019), organized at the Kunsthalle Basel, and Small Upgrade (2019), opened during the fifth Ural Industrial Biennal of Contemporary Art (Russia): also on these occasions Jeong had presented her disturbing robots made up of mechanical / electronic gears and anatomical elements taken from mannequins. The common feature in these works is a large installation consisting of a table containing tools and gears accompanied by screens that show the artist during the construction of her “toys” and subsequent performances – the same installation is proposed in the entrance hall of the exhibition venue in Modena. Looking at the table, we imagine the artist getting to work, carefully choosing the tools and components to be used from time to time. In a few seconds our fantasies are satisfied by the videos placed on the sides of the bench: we see Jeong moving like an old scientist (Dr. Frankenstein?) or a modern robotic engineer (the scientists of the Rossum factory?), intent on handling fake human components, metal gears and thin colored cables – to specify the realization of the robots is totally autonomous, the result of studies on programming languages.

Going through the rooms of the building, we realize that the Upgrade in Progress works have firm roots in some experiments of the early twentieth century, while at the same time giving new life to solutions that, starting from the same assumptions, have founded a new way of making art: evident , for example, the references to Hans Bellmer’s Poupées, both aesthetically and for the ambiguous erotic charge they transmit, but also to the Post-Human practices spreading since 1992, the year of the homonymous group show curated by Jeffrey Deitch, which have inaugurated a new phase of contemporary art – in this case the references to Cindy Sherman’s Sex Pictures series and Paul McCarthy’s mannequins are evident.

If the playful aspect plays an important role in Jeong’s poetics – it is no coincidence that she defines her creations as “toys”, also in this approach to Bellmer’s experiences – what interests her most is to investigate the relationship that unites man to machines. Reversing the belief that machines are intended for complete human control, in her performances it is not clear who controls who: in the game of the parts, the artist and the android seem to claim their autonomy / authority. In this perspective, the aforementioned fil rouge that links her art to the works of Shelley and Čapek is more fitting than ever: even in Frankenstein and RUR, in fact, the underlying theme is that of control by man on beings created by him – a condition that ends with the rebellion of the latter. Jeong’s “toys”, of course, do not end up rebelling against the artist, but the nature of the relationship that binds them contributes to reflect on the same message: the conviction of command, which in a sci-fi scenario often leads to unexpected and catastrophic consequences, in real life turns into a mere illusion if one only thinks of how much machines are shaping our way of living and thinking. However, the interaction between Jeong and her creations does not boil down to the question of who controls who. From the early stages of construction, a certain concern is seen in working on objects: perhaps the expression with which she defines them (“toys”) reveals a feeling, a sort of affection towards them – after all they are still her creations – which at the time of the performances, however, translates into an indecipherable impulse, ambiguous as the machines themselves – hence the enigmatic playful / erotic attitude with which they interact.

Sexuality, play and, above all, man-technology dualism: these are the fundamental components of Geumhyung Jeong’s work, treated with the same (at times controversial) authenticity that characterizes our times. Taking a long step backwards, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and R. U. R. by Karel Čapek already warned about the possible implications that could have had in the delicate balance between what is human and what is not. “Alongside political and social upheavals, there are scientific advances that would have profoundly changed everyone’s life”: this was the beginning of a 1994 film based on Shelley’s work. In addition to continue the artist’s speech, Upgrade in Progress “updates” the reflection on the consequences that these progress have produced: a future that seemed distant has now become present, and now we have to think about the changes that it has led to the life we ​​live and everything around us.

Antongiulio Vergine

Info:

Geumhyung Jeong – Upgrade in Progress
curated by Diana Baldon
6 March – 2 June 2020
FMAV, Palazzina dei Giardini, Corso Cavour 2, Modena
www.fmav.org