Standing Workers

Yang Jung Uk’s work typically moves in a regular cycle. It closely observes and records the various layers of emotions and social contexts of an individual’s gestures. In the exhibition, Yang presents a work which captures the rhythm of the small and trivial movements of repetitive work of those who have to do their job standing. Their gestures—such as taking turns transferring the body weight from one leg to the other to relieve muscle aches in leg, churning their arm explaining the way to those who ask for directions, and absent-mindedly standing with their arms swinging— are reborn as kinetic sculptures powered with a small electric motor, which refers to a narrative of our common but valuable everyday life.