Yunchul Kim’s works can be located in the extensive border area between art and science. Their character suggests a resemblance to experimental physical set-ups, making use of natural scientific laws such as acoustics, light refraction or magnetism, and exercising a tremendous pull on the viewer with their subtly devised method of functioning and the beauty of the colours and structures they generate.

“Epiphora” is the first work of a series that Kim began in 2009, examining the elements water, fire, air and earth. In this context, “Epiphora” stands for affinities to water as an element. Black magnetic fluid surrounded by a clear liquid pulsates at the centre of a kind of imaginary organ, while another organ in the form of a branching glass pipe is attached to the wall. They react to each other and appear to communicate with one another.

“Amorph” (Amorphous) is the title of the new exhibition by Yunchul Kim now being shown in Künstlerhaus Bethanien. In addition to “Epiphora” and some older works, it also presents 5 new pieces by the South Korean artist. Here, on the whole, the connection is retained to water – to liquid – as in “Epiphora”, but there is also a tendency towards the element of fire. In this context, one might recall a statement by Novalis, who described water as a wet flame. Yunchul Kim views his work as being anchored in a very similar way.

In the exhibition space – a ‘laboratory’, which the artist calls “Mare Imbrium” – Kim creates a fictive, imaginary world, and when referring to the apparatuses that he exhibits, he talks about “pataphorical objects”. So here we are operating in the world of the extended metaphor, whereby the artist attempts to build bridges with his art, to develop a fluid transition between art and science.