Willing To Be Vulnerable

Willing To Be Vulnerable (2015~) is Lee Bul’s most recent installation series, comprised of interconnected fabric formations such as balloons, tents, and banners that together evoke the atmosphere of a circus left abandoned. The circus is a product of the modern era that was once popular but remains largely only as part of our collective memory. The series recreates these obsolete images and imageries of modernity on a monumental scale, but by using lightweight and airy materials such as transparent film and tent fabric, giving them an elusive quality. Notably, the shiny dirigible hung in the mid-air, Willing To Be Vulnerable — Metalized Balloon, was designed based on the infamous Hindenburg airship, which was Germany’s proud symbol of progress until it caught fire and was destroyed in 1937. The futuristic balloon is made of aluminium foil, and then coated with a delicate cloth that flaps like a small living creature as air blows. The Willing To Be Vulnerable series requires a site-specific installation and involves creating an immersive space with enormous fabrics; it is designed to form shapes that echo a landscape, a recurring motif in Lee Bul’s art.