Asia

Yo Daham

Incense Burners

2020

Incense Burner, 2020

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Yo Daham has been knitting, which he initially took up as a daily pastime, to produce objects that function as an incense burner by releasing smoke. His questioning of the nature of matter led to this unusual combination of knitting (typically considered a form of two-dimensional weaving) and an incense burner (an object traditionally used in rituals). Knitting is an act that requires unwinding a spool infinitely wrapped with thread and determining the form by applying force and pressure. The procedure includes making a neat arrangement of knots, reflecting a characteristic of craft. However, above all, the work Incense Burners derives from his interest in the course of involuntary making under neuro-linguistic control and the physical experience of the process. To the artist, this undertaking is comparable to the primitive imagery of smoke dancing in the air according to atmospheric pressure and the wind. For Yo, knitting is a tactile experience, as a way of acknowledging natural formations and their probabilities, such as the shaping of the land, stalactites, and ocean waves, caused by variable forces working together.

Matter is classified as solid, liquid, and gas, and its states change or undergo cycles when there are external forces and environmental shifts. Changes of state are only the result of adapting to a given environment, and they do not mean modification in the essence of the matter. This simple law of nature aligns with Taoist philosophy, which follows the source of the universe and objects, and the embrace of nature. Yo’s Incense Burners do not symbolize religious or traditional rituals, but they perform the role of a tool—allowing smoke to rise into the air gracefully. Simultaneously, through knitting, they reveal state changes from line to matrix, to irregular organic three-dimensional form, and eventually to solid that vaporizes and the motility of matter. The act of knitting, after all, is a bodily experience of recognizing the natural cycle that crosses boundaries.

Yo Daham is a self-taught artist who has learnt from close exchanges with a group of artists in Seoul since early 2000. His practice develops intriguing and thoughtful languages through performance, video, and object making. His recent solo exhibition Gas Liquid Solid was derived from his comprehension of time. Parts of his mundane life, such as walking, needling, and sleeping become materials to reflect time and matter for the artist. Particularly, knitting is one of his art methods of predilection, as it departs from solid objects and then shifts to incense burners in the end. Yo’s three atypical knitted objects were presented in KADIST’s Asia KCC exhibition, Frequencies of Tradition. They provided audiences with an intriguing experience as they stimulated their sense of smell and smoke movement through incense burning as a metaphor for spirituality.

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Yo Daham Incense Burners

Yo Daham

Incense Burners