A seamlessly perceived world is a closed system[1]. If some water is put in a glass and placed on the table, evaporation will take place at the surface. However, the vapor that is in the air will be quite minimal and will condense and adsorb on the surface of the water in the glass. With time, evaporation and liquefaction move towards a quiet equilibrium. In a closed system where material transfer is not possible, the water surface, having reached equilibrium, does not undergo any further change.

The world perceived by Hwia Kim is an open system. The balance is constantly shifting—one hundred million droplets evaporate into vapor while another hundred million condense into water, one hundred droplets evaporate while another hundred condense, ten droplets turn into vapor while ten condense. This cycle continues in a delicate equilibrium. But in an open system, where matter can move freely, new molecules of water inevitably enter. What appears to be balance is, in reality, a ceaseless fine-tuning of excess and deficiency. The equilibrium of our imperfect world is not a static state. It is a process of constant movement, where excess and lack coexist and continuously reshape balance.

The events occurring on the surface are subtle. We, who have much to consider, live in a temporary closed system—defining the world at room temperature and one atmosphere of pressure[2], assuming an afternoon temperature of 20°C and 60%[3] relative humidity for the sake of efficiency in understanding. There is too much to do and too little time to observe the unseen. However, when one expands their field of perception and pays attention, they will realize that the surface is never truly still—it is always in motion.

In Unbinding Bodies, Hwia Kim shifts her perspective from a closed system to an open one. She observes the subtle movements occurring on the surface, opening her body and consciousness fully to the world. Through technology, she expands the boundaries of perception[4] and positions Unbinding Bodies as the site where her perception is realized through her works. Hwia Kim deftly captures the gaps where humans, bodies, technology, consciousness, life, senses, and existence simultaneously overflow and fall short of one another. These gaps are understood through her resistance to the self-enclosed nature of Western metaphysics and her transition to an open system. This transition is expressed through the heterogeneous coupling and reconfiguration of the technological body in a yoga pose.

Hwia Kim speaks of the awe she feels when perceiving a world that is undeniably alive. And she produces works that resist being confined to a single concept. Her artworks either exist in a state of conceptual absence or in one of conceptual excess. As Nancy suggested, in Unbinding Bodies—which consists of three pieces from the Extrusion (2024) series, the interactive work Extruded body (2024), and the performance piece ≈ (2024)—art reveals itself only through the tension between two concepts: the technical and the sublime[5]. The images of heterogeneous cohesion that Kim creates in these works become moments of contact, referencing the break in ongoing processes of signification and the suspension of judgment.

The Extrusion (2024) series consists of three works—Shirshasana (Headstand), Setu Bandha Sarvangasana (Bridge Pose), and Utkatasana (Chair Pose)—each representing inversion, connection, and the coexistence of presence and absence. The recurring theme of yoga in Unbinding Bodies signifies a call to pause, to suspend judgment, and to disconnect from the ongoing process of meaning-making. Just as equilibrium in an open system is never a final state of serene stillness, meditation in yoga is not about achieving a perfectly tranquil, self-contained state. The pursuit of mental and physical peace through meditation is a process of continuous attempts and failures. In yoga, we focus on each moment, repeatedly failing to concentrate, yet without condemnation. Yoga is a practice of opening the body and consciousness to the world. It begins with deep engagement with the self, followed by an understanding of one’s limits, and ultimately, the formation of an open subject capable of interacting with external entities. Understanding the limitations of a closed system, Hwia Kim deliberately pushes herself into an open system, constantly engaging with the world beyond herself.

The last three works of the Extrusion (2024) series manifest the indeterminate formation and reassignment of technological bodies that resist absolute unity and identity. These works, existing as open bodies, integrate computer vision and physical computing technologies to explore new ways of connecting with the world through a snake robot arm. The works expose visual representations of the circulatory system and the internal mechanics of movement, revealing them as open structures. The snake robot arm, equipped with cameras to track the movement of viewers, appears as though it emerges from within the body itself. At the bottom of these works, 3D pixelated body parts reference the performer’s digitally modeled body from the performance ≈ (2024), embracing the integration of technology through the interplay of excess and deficiency.

Unlike its predecessor Extrusion (2023), where a snake robot arm was attached to a form that mimicked the artist’s body, this new series constructs Hwia Kim’s subjective body through the heterogeneous fusion of the performer’s 3D-modeled body, its 3D-printed physical output, and mechanical apparatuses. In this way, Kim’s intended body becomes both a directed, holistic subject and an object—one that can be integrated into the world or projected into it.

As Merleau-Ponty states, “Artistic expression brings into existence that which it expresses in its own likeness and positions that self-imaged existence as a thing within nature, something which anyone can comprehend.”[6] Thus, Kim organizes her bodily expressions as a realm of perception where the world is constantly recreated and reconfigured. To achieve this, she actively repeats the process of bonding and unbinding with heterogeneous entities beyond herself. She utilizes camera sensors and computer technologies to collect and lay bare all the accumulated perceptions that make up both the individual parts and the totality of her body.

 If the Extrusion (2024) series explores the tension between interior and exterior through singular and plural interactions with heterogeneous entities, then the interactive work Extruded body (2024) and the performance piece ≈ (2024) immerse the audience in experiences of perceptual excess and deficiency through their engagement with technological attachments and detachments. In Extruded body (2024), the audience actively participates in temporary pairings and synchronization exercises with mechanical devices. This highlights the extension of the body and the transference of sensory perception, challenging the assumption that an unencumbered, distraction-free state of awareness is the ideal mode of perceiving the world. Meanwhile, the performance piece ≈ (2024) adopts the symbol ≈ (approximation) as its title, drawing viewers into a suspended state of meaning-making before fixed interpretations take hold. Here, the relationships formed through the non-verbal communication of the performer’s body, movement, and the interplay between sound and form are brought to the forefront.

Hwia Kim, who previously worked with video and VR-based formats, is now shifting toward installation and kinetic works that foreground materiality. I interpret this transition toward materiality in her practice as a shift from a closed system to an open one. In a closed system, matter cannot be exchanged—only energy can be transferred. By moving into an open system, where both matter and energy are in flux, she embraces encounters with heterogeneous elements and throws herself into a world of singular pluralities. Having spent time within a closed system, where she focused on the flow of energy entering and exiting, as well as on disorder (chaos), she now transitions into an open system where both energy and matter are in motion.