Hyeree Ro's 'Niro' transforms father's car into psychological prosthetic at Canal Projects

Hyeree Ro's exhibition 'Niro' at Canal Projects in New York features a wooden and aluminum reconstruction of her late father's Kia Niro, serving as both sculpture and psychological prosthetic. The artist, who grew up between Seoul and Los Angeles, was estranged from her father for 13 years before his unexpected passing. The skeletal structure contains stones, shells, clay mounds, and hanging paper pieces, while video projections show bodies of water with audio interviews about Pacific Ocean crossings. During performances, Ro moved the disassemblable sculpture while narrating in English and Korean about closing her father's affairs and retrieving his car. The work explores the automobile as a private space within public realms, analogizing their burdened relationship through physical movement and sound. Jean Baudrillard's observations about American driving behavior provide broader cultural context for the automobile's symbolic significance. The exhibition runs through December 7, 2024.