Generally Meant to Be Discarded - a Yoonmi Nam solo exhibition

Studios Inc presents “Generally Meant to Be Discarded”, a solo exhibition by Yoonmi Nam on view January 12 through February 24, 2024. 

Studios Inc will host an opening reception on Friday, January 12th from 5-8 pm.

Yoonmi Nam will give an artist talk in conversation with Aileen June Wang, Curator at the Beach Museum of Art, on Saturday, January 13th from 12-1 pm.

Exhibition hours: Wednesday through Friday from 10-4pm, Saturday from 12-4pm, and by appointment 

Location: 1708 Campbell Street, Kansas City, MO, 64108

Yoonmi Nam is an artist born in Seoul, South Korea, and has studied in Korea, Canada, US, and Japan. Yoonmi received her MFA degree from the Rhode Island School of Design and BFA degree from Hong-Ik University in Seoul, Korea. Her work is in the collections of the RISD Museum, RI; Spencer Museum of Art, KS; and the Hawai’i State Art Museum, HI; among others, and has shown her work in over 25 solo exhibitions and 200 group exhibitions both nationally and internationally. Yoonmi is a professor of printmaking at the University of Kansas, and was awarded the Studios Inc artist residency in 2020. 

Image: Ceramic piece from “Generally Meant to Be Discarded”, E.G. Schempf

Generally Meant to be Discarded

Artist Statement

Yoonmi Nam

I observe the things around me. I am deeply aware of the presence of objects that we handle, consume, display, and discard. I am drawn to them especially when they subtly suggest a sense of time that seems both temporary and lasting. There is truth and honesty in time, as all of us share the fate of impermanence. But the way we surround ourselves with collections of things, it is as if we feel a sense of permanence through these comforts and arrangements. In my work, I make images and forms that highlight everyday objects, spaces, events, and routines. While insignificant and mundane, they allow us to notice both the stillness and the passage of time.

Like many people during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, my husband and I stayed in our small house and relied on deliveries to sustain us. Every week, delivery boxes and plastic containers of varying sizes and shapes from local restaurants, shops, and online stores were left at our front door. I developed a routine of disinfecting them and then breaking down the boxes and other packaging materials to recycle them. It became a consuming part of my daily activity because if neglected, the boxes and plastic containers would start to take over the small space that we lived in. In the process of handling these objects for recycling, I noticed interesting shapes and began to collect them. 

I am a collector of trash. My collection of flattened-out boxes became templates that I traced onto Tyvek sheets. The Tyvek sheet surfaces were first painted with Sumi ink and sprayed with the alcohol-based sanitizers that I had used to disinfect the surfaces of our deliveries. When the mist of this spray landed on the Sumi ink surface, it reacted with the still-wet ink and made visible the trace of my disinfecting action. Using my various box templates, I traced their shapes and made the necessary cuts and folds to imitate the original boxes. Using these ink and alcohol-stained cut-out shapes, I made studies of different arrangements and conditions. This body of work is collectively titled Delivered and Discarded. At times the box shape remains tethered to the rest of the Tyvek sheet, and at other times, different shapes of flatted-out boxes are stacked in a small pile, as if they were to be taken out to be discarded.

I continue to explore these discarded materials as a print matrix. In my work, there is a direct relationship between the subject matter and the materials. Unfolding is a series of monotype prints using the technique of pressure printing. Pressure printing is a method of printing that allows a direct imprint of my collection of boxes onto paper. I place several layers of flattened-out boxes behind a sheet of Japanese paper positioned on top of a fully inked Plexiglass plate. When this is run through the press, the physical presence of the boxes behind the paper applies more pressure onto the paper, picking up more ink, and creating an impression of the stacked boxes. 

The plastic containers are designed to be useful for very specific and brief tasks. They are designed to keep fragile or temporary items protected, such as eggs, COVID tests, take-out food, and Girl Scout cookies. I am interested in these objects as cultural artifacts of our present time. I am also interested in the contradicting sense of time that these objects inherently possess as materials and in their functions. Keeping is a collection of ceramic objects that are direct castings of the negative spaces of various plastic packages, and they become indexical signs of these disposable objects. Another series titled Cairn consists of porcelain takeout containers stacked neatly and placed on tables that are inspired by Soban, a traditional Korean dining table. These cast porcelain pieces are glazed with traditional Korean celadon glaze to further the conversation with history, culture, time, and identity.