Things and Unknown Memories 

As humans, we have been valuing material possessions for a very long time. Recently, a new term ‘open run’ or ‘opening rush’ has emerged to describe the phenomenon of people rushing to acquire the material things they desire without proper consideration. While the acquisition of goods is often seen as the ultimate goal in a capitalist society, it should not be the sole determinant of a person's worth or the value of life. Despite our awareness of the negative effects of materialism, it still dominates our society and threatens the environment and ecology due to an excessive accumulation of things. Today's market-driven culture promotes material greed and a constant desire for novel products. The concept of "newness" is juxtaposed with the historically unsustainable and often devaluing notion of "fashion." Despite this, modern society continues to yearn for novelty and innovation. Nevertheless, our society remains enthusiastic about the latest and greatest, and the insatiable desire for new products has become a familiar consumption pattern.

“Defamiliarization” of things 

Aono Fumiaki (1968- ) is featured in this exhibition. His work challenges the distorted value placed on material possessions in modern society and aims to defamiliarize common objects. When viewing his works, visitors are prompted to shift from an automatic perception to a more aggressive visual perception. By combining disparate objects, Aono creates unfamiliar aspects that encourage viewers to review, remember and imagine the history and significance of the objects. In Aono's artistic realm, the audience becomes the subject at this moment. 

The installations created by Aono do not subscribe to fixed dichotomous thinking about the old and new. In his works, so-called ‘new products’ are not given priority. Instead, newness is a secondary element that highlights the true value of oldness. Aono's art brings to mind the ‘beauty of indirectness’ that Muneyoshi Yanagi (1889-1961) discussed in his works. Yanagi believed in the value of temporality in objects. Similar to how soy sauce that has been fermented over time has a deeper flavor than freshly made soy sauce, the same goes for things. Yanagi found beauty in objects that are further removed from artificiality and seem to be more dominated by nature. Aono's artwork showcases the beauty of nature through aging objects. By making these objects unfamiliar, viewers are given a new perspective and can escape their usual way of seeing things. This experience may even trigger unknown memories for the audience.

From discovery-disassembly-restoration of things to transformation

The Um Museum’s first exhibition in 2024 Unknown Memories Open is Aono Fumiaki’s second solo exhibition in Korea following the Arario Gallery exhibition titled Aono FUMIAKI: Reincarnation - Memories from the Great Tsunami (April 24-June 1, 2014).  Aono is an artist who explores the unique temporality of objects by turning everyday objects into art. He does this by restoring the daily life, emotions, and memories inherent in objects in a distinctive way. While the exploration of physical properties serves as the semantic foundation of his work, the uncanny processes of restoration and repair emerge as the central methodology of his creative practice. Aono's sculptures are not made by relying on an artisanal or commercial process of carving, cutting, and joining objects. Instead, he leaves traces of the past of the original objects, and simultaneously proves their restoration in the present by extending, coupling, substituting, and consolidating the debris and waste of life. In this way, he discovers the unknown memories hidden in conventions and draws out new tactile sensations and interactions between humans and things, thereby expanding the bounds of sculpture.

The artist's work has always revolved around the theme of ‘restoration’ since his first exhibition in 1991. However, his idea of restoration is not about bringing things back to their original state, but rather an experiment with the destruction, regeneration, and circulation of objects. His work seeks to explore new relationships and structures that emerge in the state of memory and oblivion before restoration and the state of regeneration after restoration. During his early period, he created works by joining or supplementing materials such as cardboard, wood, and paper that were corroded or damaged over time. Since 1996, he has used "found materials" from everyday life as a medium, while from 1998 he has repaired discarded objects to create restored sculptures. In the middle and later phases of his work, he produced large-scale installations in a transformed format incorporating new forms. While the Western contemporary art scene commonly adopts strategies such as the ready-made, found objects, the appropriated, and relics to reproduce past time, Aono's work focuses on the properties of combination and division brought about by the multi-layered coexistence of heterogeneous things in the Japanese climate. Instead of the Western strategy of demonstrating the passage of time through old and worn materials, he recalls ‘unknown memories’ that we are not even aware of by coexisting and overlapping memories of the past with the present. This somewhat weird fusion remains intriguing and vital to us.

The Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011 was a significant event that greatly influenced the artist's creative journey. The two keywords that best describe his work are ‘recovery’ and ‘restoration.’ However, the dictionary definition of restoration has lost its relevance in the face of the overwhelming force of nature. Instead of rebuilding what was lost, the artist offers comfort by combining and transforming the various objects that were washed up on unfamiliar shores due to the earthquake's upheaval. By collecting, combining, and replacing items with their own histories, the artist stitches and sutures the wounds brought on by the disaster. Although these objects are moved to new locations, the memories from their previous lives or the signs of their losses are imbued into the new form. This transformation could be seen as a type of reincarnation, or it could be interpreted as a cure or regeneration.

Some of the installations that will be showcased at this exhibition have been created using items collected after the earthquake disaster. One of the notable works on display is Ship (2012), which incorporates disused ships that were gathered from Ishinomaki - an area that was severely affected by the disaster. The damaged and discarded ships are supported by tables and drawers, forming a collection of distorted and corroded fragments that each holds their own memories and history. Through this artwork, the objects bring about a narrative of the second act of art, showcasing the power of art to create something beautiful out of the unexpected and unrelated.

This exhibition showcases a collection of artworks that feature flat objects that display signs of aging, extension, and repair, such as fading, corrosion, and stains. It also includes photographic works that incorporate collage techniques, drawings, and three-dimensional pieces. These works are characterized by a mix of heterogeneity and inconsistency, which subvert the audience's expectation for a seamless integration.

For the continuous liberation of things

At the Um Museum, we have reflected deeply on the relationship between objects and their surroundings, and how humans and nature can coexist in an ideal future. Our various exhibitions aim to explore these themes, and we are delighted to present the work of Aono Fumiaki, who shares our vision. Aono's approach to objects is to examine their nature, properties, and significance, and to raise our awareness of their importance. As humans, we often exploit nature and disrupt the ecosystem due to our obsession with material possessions and avarice. Aono confronts humanity's violence against objects, particularly those that were once valued but have been abandoned and discarded after their usefulness has expired. He restores and transforms these objects, seeking to return them to a state where they are governed by nature and can return to the natural cycle. Thanks to his creativity and fresh perspective, discarded objects are transformed into artistic entities with new value. The relationships between objects that Aono presents through his work may provide clues to solving the problems that we currently face in a world where superficiality and appearances often deceive us. Aono's art encourages the viewers to reflect on their relationship with material possessions and society's expectations. Now, Aono's objects placed in a circular orbit rather than in accumulation are being liberated as a living organism that throws off the burden of various realities demanded by society, presenting unknown memories to the audience, and leading a conversation.


By Joohyun Kim, Um Museum Curator 

Mending, Substitution, Incursion, Coupling, “Restoration of a Red Signboard Collected in Ishinomaki, Miyagi, Japan, after the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami”, 2013, metal, timber(chest of drawers), plywood, acrylic paint, 316x150x155cm