Defensive Measure_curated by Hyeri Cho
“A human body is already a cyborg if an artificial product is combined with it, regardless of however simple that technology may be.”
- Donna Haraway
People today become 'one with the machine’ in various forms, whether that machine takes the form of simple hearing aids and contact lenses or more complex devices that perform vital bodily functions, such as artificial organs and insulin injectors. In today’s day and age, machines are more than simple 'tools' performing certain functions. They actively encroach on the human body, whether in tangible or intangible form; whether they assume a relationship with the human body or are incorporated into it. Jongjun Son’s works?creepy looking, exaggerated metallic mechanisms and arms meant to defend against machine civilization?recall cyborg warriors of the technology era.
As the title ‘Defensive Measure’ readily suggests, these cold, sharp-edged metallic machines are considered means of defense and are unnecessarily heavy as a result. Cold machines juxtaposed with the soft human body serve both as 'guards' protecting the body as well as 'offensive weapons' with their sharp, metallic projections
Aren’t we all overly defensive toward each other in the real world? Son expresses a fresh perspective on our times, where human nature becomes increasingly materialistic and society is dominated by machines. Ultimately, the artist is satirizing us all: we tend to be mutually offensive in pursuit of our own particular interests, each one of us becoming more and more standardized and at the same time individualistic.
