Society on a Sushi Conveyor Belt
The conveyer belt in the movie Modern Times was often used as a symbol for the mechanized and standardized human life in industrialized society. The streets, junctions, escalators and elevators of modern cities were also codified with the same meaning as the conveyor belt. Artist Kuimi You delves into this symbolic meaning of the conveyor belt. She reads modern urban life and traits of human life embedded in the diversely colorful sushi dishes on a sushi conveyor belt. Her work revolves around ¢®¢çsushi;¢®¯ she personifies sushi to display various scenes. According to her, the sushi appearing on the screen – including among others egg sushi, salmon sushi, and tuna sushi - are incarnations of different characters, all with different traits. As sushi in a rotating sushi restaurant is priced according to the color of its dish, the value of the various types of sushi shown on screen is predetermined. Kuimi uses this concept of predetermined value as a medium for communicating the various scenes reflecting human society. However, she does not utilize sushi simply as a vehicle for criticizing society, but to express snapshots of modern society with humor and wit. For example, the work paints the busy scene of riverside drive using sushi on a conveyor belt. The myriad cars on the street are represented with different types of sushi, the bridge becomes chopsticks, the mountain is a side of fish, and Yeoui-island is depicted as a sushi dish. Kuimi changed the competitive race of modern urban life into a sumptuous landscape of sushi. invokes the sweetness of sushi to illuminate the moonlit cityscape as endearing and beautiful.
Kuimi also fills her paintings with Korean tradition. , , are the major examples. Inspired by the Joseon Dynasty-era 8-fold screen documentary painting ü¢´àòÒ©ªú©öÓñ),1795> which depicts King Jeongjo visiting his father Prince Sadoseja¢®¯s grave, she tells varied stories of modern society. She expresses in sushi images from traditional documentary paintings, including in which the passing candidates of the civil service exam are announced, and which depicts training soldiers. The work is a satire of the scene of modern college entrance examinations, manifest in the form of civil service examinations from the Joseon Dynasty. There are hanging banners at the entrance of the examination hall with various dishes drawn on them. Mothers are praying. A late student laments that he is not permitted to enter. On either side, there are flags from top private academic institutes and prestigious high schools. Eel and mackerel sushi, which seem to be soldiers, are holding various tools for punishment. Soldiers in the front are ........
Kuimi You's exhibition 'Who moved my sushi?'
