'Alchemy' Series Spearheads Conversations on Sustainable Art Favorite 

For one artist, the ugly and the beautiful are equivalent concepts. In 2018, designer and artist Choi Jeong Hwa featured an exhibition titled 'Alchemy' at The Artling where he uses recycled and non-biodegradable materials in his work that he has been collecting for 30 years, such as household trash, glass, and steel. 'Dandelion' is one of his masterpieces installed in the outdoors in Seoul, South Korea.

"Artist Choi Jeong Hwa’s practice spans just about medium of artistic expression. From installation, architecture, interior design, furniture design, art direction, the list goes on. He’s also exhibited internationally at notable art events and locations such as the Sao Paolo Biennial, Gwangju Biennale, Singapore Biennale, Mori Art Museum in Tokyo and the Rockbund At Museum in Shanghai.

His works can be found at the inaugural Bangkok Biennale, where his brightly stacked found objects constitute his installations. Well known for large-scale installations that undermine institutional hierarchy due to their presence outside buildings rather than in them, Choi’s works consistently evoke the harmony and chaos of urban environments."

In an interview with "The Artling", one questioned asked, "You’ve previously mentioned that you like using plastic due to its lack of deterioration. What is your aim through the usage of this material? What are you trying to achieve?" To this, Choi responded, "Undecaying plastic! Since the 1990’s, I started pondering the question: what is disposable? Between fresh flowers and artificial flowers, for example. It’s still an ongoing project. I think the relationship between the manmade and the natural is that between the human and nature. Plastic is made by the sun, the earth, and humans. What humans make is made by nature. This can also can be seen as a ‘2nd nature’, as plastic is a synthetic compound of rubber and oil.

Plastic that the sun and the earth make together is the fossil of the sun. I use plastic as the material under the project named Anthropocene. By using plastic, I try to demonstrate the harmonious state between the human and nature instead of artificial nature. By suggesting a method of utilization and application of plastic, I assert to revisit the spirit of plastic, that it’s not something simply disposable. How can we so easily throw out the plastic that’s living and thinking?" (The Artling)

In addition to participating in numerous biennials about contemporary art, Choi widens the discussion on sustainability in the field of contemporary art and beyond. His 'Alchemy' is one of the many bold visions he strives to deliver to critics and viewers alike.