Sylbee Kim at Nevan Contempo, Prague

Sylbee Kim: The Red Liquid and Narcissus, Installation View, Nevan Contempo, 2017 (Photography: Sylbee Kim)

Sylbee Kim: The Red Liquid and Narcissus, Installation View, Nevan Contempo, 2017 (Photography: Peter Fabo)

Sylbee Kim, The Red Liquid and Narcissus, 2017, 2-channel video, 4K, color, sound, 4’50”, 3’40”; performer: Louise Guigon (Photography: Peter Fabo)

Sylbee Kim, The Red Liquid and Narcissus, 2017, 2-channel video, 4K, color, sound, 4’50”, 3’40”; performer: Louise Guigon (Video stills © Sylbee Kim)

Sylbee Kim: The Red Liquid and Narcissus, Installation View, Nevan Contempo, 2017 (Photography: Peter Fabo)

Sylbee Kim: The Red Liquid and Narcissus, Installation View, Nevan Contempo, 2017 (Photography: Peter Fabo)

Sylbee Kim, Osteoarterial Joints, 2017 (Photography: Peter Fabo)

Sylbee Kim: The Red Liquid and Narcissus, Installation View, Nevan Contempo, 2017 (Photography: Peter Fabo)

Sylbee Kim: The Red Liquid and Narcissus, Installation View, Nevan Contempo, 2017 (Photography: Peter Fabo)

Sylbee Kim: The Red Liquid and Narcissus, Installation View, Nevan Contempo, 2017 (Photography: Peter Fabo)

Sylbee Kim, The Red Liquid and Narcissus, 2017, 2-channel video, 4K, color, sound, 4’50”, 3’40”; performer: Louise Guigon (Video stills © Sylbee Kim)

Sylbee Kim: The Red Liquid and Narcissus, Installation View, Nevan Contempo, 2017 (Photography: Peter Fabo)

Sylbee Kim, Anthropocentric Brain, 2017 (© Sylbee Kim)

Sylbee Kim, The Motor Functions of a Praying Heart, 2017 (© Sylbee Kim)

Sylbee Kim, The Motor Functions of a Praying Heart (detail), 2017 (Photography: Peter Fabo)

Sylbee Kim, The Motor Functions of a Praying Heart (detail), 2017 (© Sylbee Kim)

Sylbee Kim, The Motor Functions of a Praying Heart (detail), 2017 (© Sylbee Kim)

The Red Liquid and Narcissus draws an imaginary line between plutocracy and narcissism. The exhibition visualizes different parallels – in space, through mirroring and framing physical elements; in time, reflecting on the historical events that grounded our present, and in the body, exploring the flesh and bone that structures our political universe.

The exhibition was conceived from the hypothesis that the death of the self and others is tactically “concealed” by hegemonies to control their societies and maintain power. In this light, narcissism acts as an analogy for how we present and observe our bodies. The focus of the work gradually transited from the projected body to a dive into the pulsating and mortal body. Within the exhibition, the iconography of Narcissus is reenacted by an independent figure who observes the alteration of the human body. Seen through lenses that are attached to limbs or penetrate into organs, it reveals the link of biotechnological enhancement to warfare.

9.9.17 — 7.10.17