Koo Jeong A, 〈density〉, 2019. augmented reality. ⓒthe artist and Acute Art, London.

Julia Stoschek Collection and Acute Art present a new VR work by Norwegian artist Bjarne Melgaard alongside augmented reality artwork by Koo Jeong A, as part of their long-term collaboration. Bjarne Melgaard’s new virtual reality artwork, 〈My Trip〉 (2019) takes the viewer on a journey to the farthest reaches of the dark web. Melgaard compares the experience to taking Dimethyltryptamine (DMT), a naturally occurring drug, which is produced by a gland in the brain. DMT is considered the strongest hallucinogenic chemical substance and is found in almost every living organism on earth. Melgaard’s work is influenced by authors Stig Sæterbakken, David Benatar and Paul Ehrlich; The Sofa: A Moral Tale, a 1742 libertine novel by Claude Prosper Jolyot de Crébillon; and, Black Metal band, Darkthrone. Featuring characters that have recurred in the artist’s practice for over 25 years, including Lightbulb Man and Octo, in addition to new mutants and personalities created in collaboration with Acute Art, 〈My Trip〉 is a strikingly stimulating visualization of the illusions of a DMT experience. Beginning with the idea of suicide as an existential question, new psychedelia, and the loss of the self within a DMT trip, this work asks questions regarding life and how we choose to live it whilst introducing Melgaard’s perspective on Anti-Natalism and over-population. The artist is raising the contradictory view that if we are to continue to exist, humans will have to cease to procreate, as a result of the carbon impact of producing new human life. Coinciding with this premiere, the project 〈density〉 (2019) by Korean artist Koo Jeong A will materialize both at Julia Stoschek Collection and locations in the city of Berlin as part of an ongoing series presented internationally by Acute Art. Koo Jeong A’s AR work was previously shown at the 58th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia and at the Beyeler Foundation during Art Basel in Basel, 2019.

Further information:
https://www.jsc.art/exhibitions/acute-art