42cm: The Cultural Distance
" According to the Cambridge Dictionary, the definition of culture is the way of life, especially the general customs and beliefs, of a particular group of people at a particular time. And the distance is the amount of space between two places. The cultural distance, a combination of these two words, is used as a negative rather than a positive meaning. Meetings of two different cultures in human history often caused conflicts, and the experience made people defensive. Therefore, being forced or experiencing different cultures can be embarrassing or unpleasant. However, cultural distance has become an issue that must be overcome as this world is changing into a multicultural society. So how far is the gap if it could be metered?
I still stay barefoot at home and sleep on the floor with a thin bed like many people in Korea. So, the difference between sedentary and standing culture is an on-going issue for me. When I first lived abroad, the cold floor, soft mattress and the tall dining table were not comfortable. Starting with cutting off the legs of the existing dining table, a part of my home has changed to fit the sedentary life. A sedentary lifestyle is not just a matter of sitting or sleeping on the floor. Not only does the living environment change to suit the lowered eye-level, but it also affects bones and muscles because of the sitting or sleeping position. However, some of the interior and furniture were still in their original form for the standing culture. As a result, I had to go back-and-forth between two worlds with different eye-level several times a day. The distance is 42 centimetres, as long as the length of the legs cut off. It may be distant or close, but it is not hard for me."
I hope that silence in the face of other cultures is not a ready position for defence but a deep breath for overcoming the distance.
-From Artist statement by Jonathan Kim
I still stay barefoot at home and sleep on the floor with a thin bed like many people in Korea. So, the difference between sedentary and standing culture is an on-going issue for me. When I first lived abroad, the cold floor, soft mattress and the tall dining table were not comfortable. Starting with cutting off the legs of the existing dining table, a part of my home has changed to fit the sedentary life. A sedentary lifestyle is not just a matter of sitting or sleeping on the floor. Not only does the living environment change to suit the lowered eye-level, but it also affects bones and muscles because of the sitting or sleeping position. However, some of the interior and furniture were still in their original form for the standing culture. As a result, I had to go back-and-forth between two worlds with different eye-level several times a day. The distance is 42 centimetres, as long as the length of the legs cut off. It may be distant or close, but it is not hard for me."
I hope that silence in the face of other cultures is not a ready position for defence but a deep breath for overcoming the distance.
-From Artist statement by Jonathan Kim
Jonathan Kim, 42cm: The Cultural Distance, 2020, chair, table and cushion, dimensions variable. Photographed by Sam Roberts.