Exhibition view: Geumhyung Jeong, Under Construction (Video Room), 2024, Geumhyung Jeong “Under Construction” at ICA, London, 2024. Photo: Rob Harris

Living Machines: Geumhyung Jeong’s Dance of Humanity and Technology at ICA

Entering Geumhyung Jeong’s Under Construction at the ICA in London is an experience that provokes an immediate sense of anticipation and unease. The industrial gallery space, with its white walls and bare concrete floors, serves as the stage for an intricate dialogue between humanity and technology. Screens scattered throughout display videos documenting Jeong’s interactions with her creations, while skeletal-mechanical figures sprawl across the gallery floor, caught in ambiguous poses somewhere between motion and stillness. The atmosphere is both clinical and theatrical, heightened by sharp lighting that underscores the raw materials and unfinished quality of the works. Along the walls, meticulously arranged tables display mechanical components, synthetic bones, motors, and wiring, offering a close-up view of the laborious process behind Jeong’s creations. Every detail, from the placement of objects to the interplay between movement and stasis, feels integral to the exhibition’s narrative.

The sculptures, built from complete human skeleton models, are simultaneously familiar and unsettling. Their synthetic bones, rendered in a pale, almost cadaverous hue, are intertwined with cables, exposed motors, and mechanical joints. This fusion of the organic and the technological creates a tension that oscillates between attraction and discomfort. In the accompanying videos, Jeong reveals her painstaking process of assembly and interaction, emphasizing the manual, almost artisanal nature of her work. These machines are not sleek or flawless; they are fragile constructs prone to errors and collapse. Their imperfections are central to Jeong’s artistic vision: the hesitant, often clumsy movements of her automata do not mask their vulnerabilities but instead highlight them. This precariousness makes them strangely human, evoking a sense of empathy from the viewer.

Jeong’s creative process unfolds as an intimate, physical dialogue with her sculptures. Her background in choreography is evident in the videos and performances, where every interaction between her body and her machines feels meticulously orchestrated. Acts of care, such as adjusting a mechanism or lightly touching a surface, transform the sculptures into co-performers rather than inanimate objects. This dynamic of reciprocity and maintenance challenges traditional notions of the relationship between humans and technology, proposing instead a vision where machines are not mere tools to be controlled but partners to be nurtured and understood.

Compared to her earlier works, Under Construction represents a significant evolution. While Jeong previously used fragmented mannequin parts and medical dummies, the introduction of complete skeletons here adds a new level of anatomical precision and complexity. Yet, her signature DIY aesthetic—combining accessible materials with iterative, trial-and-error experimentation—remains intact. The use of skeletons, with their direct reference to human anatomy, deepens the exploration of the interplay between natural and artificial forms, pushing the reflection on technological dependency and the humanization of machines into even more profound territory.

The exhibition not only probes our relationship with technology but also situates itself within a broader cultural framework. Growing up in South Korea during a period of rapid economic and technological development, Jeong brings a unique sensitivity to the dynamics of global techno-capitalism. Her works neither condemn nor glorify technology; instead, they treat it as an extension of the human condition, emphasizing the physical and spatial relationships that define our interactions with objects. In this sense, Under Construction is not merely a reflection on the present but a proposal for imagining a future where machines are collaborators rather than mere instruments.

Geumhyung Jeong’s work defies traditional boundaries between sculpture and performance. Her creations, imperfect and constantly evolving, embody a precariousness that feels inherently human. In Under Construction, her skeletal machines are not just objects on display but living presences, seemingly waiting for the artist’s next gesture to complete their movement. The experience is one of wonder and unease, an invitation to reflect on what it means to live and coexist in an era of increasing technological interdependence.