Jinsik Yoo

Jinsik Yoo aims to disrupt binary classifications of people through figurative sculpture and installation. Born in Daejon, South Korea he studied graphic for nine years in Seoul before moving to the US at the age of 32. Yoo studied ceramics at Konkuk University and Alfred University (MFA ’19).
Growing up queer in South Korea with a strict moral code influenced my interest in using symbols to communicate, as the message is disguised through another language only those that know could understand. My background studies of graphic design further enhanced my knowledge of how to utilize color, line, shape, and form, so that I can manipulate, cut up, and reshape the context of what the viewer is seeing. With clay I find that I am able to create sculpture that remains abstract yet references the human form, which I understand to be complex and exists with many layers composed of histories, experiences and emotions. My process is best understood as a layered approach: I start building, reflect, and finally respond. Through the mash up of 2-D and 3-D work I explore issues relevant to my life, including a disassembling of gender binaries, how memory affects our perception, and conscious decision making.