Sunpil Don

Sunpil Don

 

 

▷ What sparked your interest in collecting subcultural items such as figurines and merchandise?

One of the reasons I was initially drawn to figurines was that they are products designed primarily for commercial sale. Unlike other mass-produced goods, these synthetic resin models lack any clear practical function, yet they perform a role surprisingly similar to that of artworks—a paradox I found deeply intriguing. Just as I came to discover various artworks and artistic disciplines in reverse, starting from figurines, I hope the works in this special exhibition—though fragmented and disconnected in context—can likewise serve as a starting point for encountering a wider field of contemporary art.

 

▷ What significance does the act of collecting hold for you as an artist?

For me, ‘collecting’ is not simply about amassing objects—it is a way of exploring the cultural and social contexts embedded within them. In this exhibition, I examine how the act of ‘collecting’ can move beyond personal taste and begin to trace the complex networks that connect individuals, industry, and society.

 

 

 

Self-Introduction, 4k video, 25min 19sec, 2020

 

 

▷ How are the collected figurines recontextualized in your practice?

I collect materials as they catch my eye—guided more by instinct than by plan. What I gather varies widely: figurines, plastic models, images found online, reference books, and monographs. Many of the resin kits and soft vinyl figures come from ‘Wonder Festival,’ which I attend every year. For now, these objects remain in my personal archive, but I never know when they might become part of a work. They exist somewhere between collection and exhibition. Sometimes I find myself wondering, “Why did I pick this up?”—but more often than not, that very uncertainty becomes an unexpected key that leads the work forward.

 

▷ How would you like viewers to approach your work?

I hope viewers will approach my works less as finished pieces and more as instruments—tools whose meaning is not fixed by their form, but shaped by the ways in which they are used. The sculptural forms I employ are intentionally familiar and easily legible. While engaging with them through conventional modes of perception is entirely valid, I believe the experience becomes more nuanced and rewarding when viewers remain open to alternative ways of interacting with or interpreting these images.

 

 

Portrait Fist Series, ABS, resin, acrylic, figure, polyurethane foam, 55×40×45cm, 2020