DAVID ZINK YI

The palms made of aluminum and stainless steel are lifelike replicas of the palm species “Washingtonia Robusta” that reach a height of up to 35 meters and line many streets, promenades and walkways in the Southern metropolises of the United States. Created with a naturalistic attention to detail, these trees, shrunken down to the size of 3.5 meters in his works, depict an idealized and aestheticized idea of nature. They have an unsettling effect because of the contrast between their detailed realism and the artificiality and coolness of the materials used. The palms are a replica of nature, yet robbed of their naturalness, emblems both of high artifice and technical perfection. Shiny and delicate, they strive upward and unfold their fronds like a crown. Are nature and technology in opposition or in harmony? How are space and objects defined in relation to one another? Yi – himself influenced by his multi-cultural family background – formulates in his works the question of the definition of identity and origin in a new way. With his artistic deconstruction and alienation, he continues to place the perception of these ideas at the center of his artistic thought process.

David Zink Yi was born in Lima, Peru in 1973. He lives and works in Berlin.