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According to Sohyun Park (1996), humanity has become completely entangled in power dynamics. But would it be possible to let go of our need for power and control? This is the underlying question in the work Idle Babble (2025), an installation that uses various mirroring and reflecting surfaces to confront spectators with a partly distorted version of themselves and their environment. Park thus creates a restless and stifling atmosphere of watching and being watched, causing us to become hyperconscious of our own situation.
With her background in fashion and design, Park operates at the intersection of fashion, design, and art. Through her unconventional and innovative use of materials, she investigates the relationship between the body and its environment. In this process she also tries to get to grips with her own traumatic experiences resulting from social dynamics. Departing from these tragic reflections, which have been fed by philosophical and feminist literature, Park is searching for the message that, even in these dire circumstances, there is always room for hope. This notion also seems to be central to Park’s installation Idle Babble. The installation makes the impact of social pressure on individuals tangible. This type of pressure may lead to physical and social isolation as well as destructive compulsions – a collective trauma of our time, according to the artist. By making the spectator physically experience the stifling effects of social pressure, the installation prompts them to contemplate whether it is possible to stand up to it.
Text: Esther Darley
Translated from Dutch by Marie Louise Schoondergang (The Art of Translation)