Book, 2023, Inkjet Print, Acrylic on Canvas, Folding Screen, 313 x 161 cm

“The Book of I” unfolds like an Epic theater* play. The protagonists are sculptural works made with traditional Korean architectural and domestic elements such as an original guardian pole (a Jangseung Korean. Korean: 장승), a hanging scroll ( a Jokja. Korean: 족자), and a folding screen (a Byeong-poong. Korean: 병풍 ). The artist used a Brechtian Verfremdungseffekt ("estrangement effect" or "alienation effect") depleting the object’s original functions and assigning them multiple roles and meanings through painterly elements leveraged through the use of Artificial Intelligence (DALL·E 2) 

To create her new canvases and painted elements, Yang feeds the software with images of her own paintings and AI prompts with the request to deconstruct and re-narrate them. (DALL·E 2) “answers” with newly generated images which Yang uses in a third step as a background to paint new works, slightly emboldening the narrative further. The results are paintings made of many physical and conceptual layers, either minimalistic and quiet or gestural and busy like Hienorymous Bosch’s Garden of Earthly Delights. 

At the heart of this theater is the 'Byeong-poong,'  whose panels showcase visual tales with at their center The Pensive Bodhisattva (Seoul) and the Statue of Liberty (New York) reminding us of Bosch’s Garden of Earthly Delights. Behind, on the wall, the painting “Mirror”, hidden under a traditional hanging scroll so that visitors are required to interact with the piece to see it in full. "Jang Sung," a sculpture made with an original Korean guardian pole (“Jangseung”. Korean: 장승) completes the installation which, like in Yang’s I-Series, examines the the relationship between the artist and her shadow. 

In executing these works through her conversational approach with AI, and making them integral part of sculptural elements, Yang creates an experiential exhibition that is a captivating exploration of her own identity and boundaries within a visual context. The participatory aspect requires the audience to question their own perspectives and to reexamine the boundaries between digital image and conventional art making.