Excretion

Jazoo Yang

2012, Seoul, Korea
Material: paint on concrete

www.jazooyang.com

Artist Jazoo Yang's 2012 work 'Excretion' was a powerful and ephemeral mural that captured the transient nature of urban redevelopment. Created on the remnants of houses being demolished in Ahyeon-dong, Seoul, the work involved the artist applying house paint directly onto the surfaces of the soon-to-be-demolished structures.

The mural itself is a striking contrast of black and white, with the exterior walls and remaining structures painted in a deep black, while Yang's gestural brushstrokes of dots, lines, and X shapes overlay in white. These dynamic marks seem to flow across the surfaces, leaving behind curved trails that suggest the rapid movement of the artist's arm as they swung their brushes from left to right.

The work was deeply rooted in its specific context - Yang witnessed the changing landscape of the neighborhood firsthand as a resident, and sought to create a photographic record of Ahyeon-dong's vanishing scenery even as he transformed part of it into this temporary painted intervention. The impermanence of 'Excretion' is key - immediately after its completion, the work was itself destroyed along with the architecture it adorned as demolition proceeded.




In this way, Yang's mural highlights the ephemeral nature of the urban environment and our tenuous relationship to the built spaces around us. The act of painting directly onto surfaces destined for destruction imbued the work with a sense of urgency and poignancy. Through his spontaneous, gestural marks contrasted against the remaining skeletal structures, Yang drew attention to the cycles of creation and destruction inherent to urban redevelopment. 'Excretion' existed as a powerful yet fleeting testament to a rapidly changing neighborhood before being reclaimed by that very transformation.

Immediately after the artist completed the work, the work was destroyed along with the architecture.


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