Presentation
The confusion between these two diverse human activities —inventing stories and finding traces in order to find something— is the origin of the incomprehension and distrust of science shown by a significant part of our contemporary culture. The separation is a subtle one: the antelope hunted at dawn is not far removed from the antelope deity in that night’s storytelling.The border is porous. Myths nourish science, and science nourishes myths. But the value of knowledge remains. If we find the antelope, we can eat.
Carlo Rovelli, Seven Brief Lessons on Physics —translated by Simon Carnell and Erica Segre, Riverhead Books New York, 2016
Myth is born from the unfathomable, from the unintelligible, from the paradoxical —from an unmanageable reality… Myth is defined as “a usually traditional story of ostensibly historical events that serves to unfold part of the world view of a people or explain a practice, belief, or natural phenomenon”.* It is in essence a dramatization of elements of physics and symbols, put together in order to carry philosophical, metaphysical, or social messages. Min Jung-Yeon loves myths, tales, and philosophy, as much as she is fascinated by space, quantum physics, and our cosmos —endlessly explored by science, yet with forever undefined dimensions. In her work, these thinking processes overlap with her own experience to create a metaphorical universe. The artist’s sixth exhibition at Galerie Maria Lund, Croquez la pomme (Bite the Apple), echoes the proverbial apple, the forbidden fruit eaten by Eve. With this title, Min Jung- Yeon invites us to existential questioning: the questioning of the idea of balance as a source of happiness, the questioning of the concepts of obedience and submission against those of freedom and curiosity, as well as the questioning of the very notion of fault —the woman’s, she who let herself be tempted first, moved by a desire to know, to face the unknown… Croquez la pomme incites us to dare, to discover, to explore the core of the apple.
Min Jung-Yeon often constructed complex perspectives, presented like a stage. With her new works comes the desire to blur the line between form and perspective. Surfaces, shapes, and backgrounds interlock, transparencies and outlines overlap, and thus is born a momentum,
[…]
With Croquez la pomme, Min Jung-Yeon demonstrates the need to “bite”: to dig deep, to question, to leave the comfort zone. Her recent creation, a monumental installation entitled La mer blanche (The White Sea; Pont-Scorff, 2024), further liberated her relationship to space, including the one within a bi-dimensional medium. Formations like markers arise in nameless landscapes. In parallel, flutterings and flights can be seen. This way, the artist refers to the fundamental dichotomy between what is at a given time and what is transforming. A sense of wonder and a particular energy radiate from the luminous visions she creates, in an infinite potential of narratives.
Agenda
SUNDAY OPENING
Each month, the Galerie Maria Lund opens its doors on a sunday afternoon for a special moment dedicated to contemporary art.
48 rue de Turenne, Paris 3e
RENCONTRE
Min Jung-Yeon will be conversing with art historian and curator Amélie Adamo as part of s’émerveiller (marvel), an art tour hosted by participating galleries throughout 2025.
48 rue de Turenne, Paris 3e
Publications and texts
LECTURE | Brice Liaud
Brice Liaud lit Pose – essai poétique inspiré par l’oeuvre de Peter Martensen
LECTURE | Céline Bernadac
Céline Bernadac lit Monologue de l’Interstice – essai poétique inspiré par l’oeuvre de Peter Martensen