Michael Joo's Seoul exhibition explores identity through geological, biological, and personal intersections

Michael Joo's exhibition 'Soft Skills and Underground Whispers' at Kukje Gallery in Seoul runs from 30 August to 3 November 2024. The American-born Korean artist presents two- and three-dimensional works that examine identity formation through layered references to geology, biology, and archaeology. Works like 'Mediator (Redux)' (2024) incorporate personal elements, including a pink embroidered quilt imported from Korea by Joo's mother in the 1980s, arranged to evoke Joseph Beuys's 1974 performance 'I Like America and America Likes Me'. The exhibition features carbonized mushrooms in 'Revider for Ganoderms (Yeongjiboseot 3)' (2024), referencing traditional East Asian medicine, and 'Revider with Carbon Doppelganger' (2024), which includes a 3D-printed rock based on samples from Korea's Demilitarized Zone. Joo references Italo-Brazilian architect Lina Bo Bardi's glass easel display system from São Paulo's Museum of Art in 'Untitled (after LBB)' (2024). 'EP Print (v. 2)' (2024) uses an electrophoresis image from his mother's plant physiology work, modified with AI. The show blends scientific legacy with personal history, exploring intersections of materiality and narrative.