Michael Joo

BIO

Michael Joo (b. 1966 Ithaca, US) Michael Joo’s work investigates the concepts of identity and knowledge in a hybrid contemporary world. Born to Korean parents in the United States, he creates narratives that explore places, people and objects through reinterpreting perception: why do we perceive as we perceive. Joo’s non-linear, almost cyclical approach to his practice together with his combination of scientific language and research, results in work that is a documentation of process. Whether chemically treated, silver-coated or photo-based, Joo’s artwork combines a range of techniques associated with sculpture, painting, photography and print-making. He continues to blur the boundaries between art and science through his investigation into ontology, epistemology and entropy; creating a cross-disciplinary and multi-dimensional dialogue to engage, question, meditate and explore. By juxtaposing humanity’s various pools of knowledge and culture Joo addresses the fluid nature of identity itself. He does this in a variety of mediums including film, sculpture, performance, and installation, with material ranging from bamboo to human sweat and silver nitrate. It seems as if the artist’s intention is to achieve the unachievable: to make us see an object in real life that is barely conceivable as thought alone. His work joins collections such as Guggenheim Museum, New York, US, Museum of Modern Art, New York, US, the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, US, AMOREPACIFIC Museum of Art, Seoul, KR, Samsung Centre for Art and Culture, Seoul, KR, FNAC (Foundation National d’Art Contemporain), Paris, FR among others.