Geumhyung Jeong's Choreographic Practice Merges Performance with Infrastructure and Machinery
Geumhyung Jeong, a Korean choreographer and artist with a background in acting, dance, and film animation, is known for her innovative performances that incorporate medical dummies, heavy machinery, and DIY robots. Her duets with lifeless objects have garnered global recognition, delving into themes of desire, control, and the infrastructure of Korea. Jeong takes on various roles, such as operator and host, as she choreographs interactions between bodies, machines, and their environments. Notable early works include Oil Pressure Vibrator (2008), where she earned an excavator license; Fitness Guide (2011), inspired by her fitness training; and CPR Practice (2013), which contemplates the essence of theater. Her performances redefine typical interactions with everyday objects, blending choreographic and sculptural aspects without fetishistic overtones, suggesting logistical gestures within institutional frameworks.
Key facts
- Geumhyung Jeong is a Korean choreographer-artist with training in acting, dance, and film animation.
- Her work includes performances with medical dummies, heavy machinery like excavators, and DIY robots.
- Jeong explores themes of desire, control, and the more-than-human through inanimate objects.
- She emphasizes the performativity of infrastructure, assuming roles like operator or host in her pieces.
- For Oil Pressure Vibrator (2008), she obtained an excavator license to master machinic operations.
- In a 2016 conversation with curator Seewon Hyun, she discussed how staged simulations reflect on theater.
- Her early works use objects such as medical equipment, gym machines, and vacuum cleaners.
- Jeong's practice merges choreographic and sculptural elements, focusing on function over symbolism.
Entities
Artists
- Geumhyung Jeong
- Seewon Hyun
Locations
- Korea