2006

Made for the solo exhibition After the house is burnt, pick up the nails, Caution: Fan death is a result of the artist’s fascination with the influence of Confucianism on contemporary Korean culture; similarly it represents the experiences of a foreigner coming to terms with an unknown, mesmeric environment. Of particular interest was the discovery of certain beliefs and customs, in particular a widespread acceptance of the reality of ‘fan death’: deaths supposedly caused by household electric fans without any direct contact or electrocution, a notion that is unique to Korea.

Caution: Fan death is a small sticker, 3cm in diameter, which should be placed next to the switches of a Korean household electric fan.
Traditional proverbs such as ‘After losing a cow one repairs the barn, only after a big disaster you fix the problem’ were also an influence, providing the artist with an uncensored insight into the habitual and customary nature of a Confucian doctrine.