Seminar Ⅶ - Yumi Choi (Researcher)

Yumi Choi emphasized the importance of not perceiving bodies with minority characteristics as lacking, but instead encouraging a shift in perspective to view hierarchies formed by physical differences in a new light. Choi and the seminar participants contemplated on the shared awareness that comes from being directly involved or affected, proposing that discussions should start not by assuming we understand each other’s pain but by recognizing that our understanding is limited to fragments of each other’s experiences. The focus shouldn’t be on debating the legitimacy of who gets to speak, but on the vital effort to forge spaces where individuals can share their stories and take pride in their identities simultaneously. Choi reflected on the significance of addressing the untranslatable aspects of the body not with ethical language but by acknowledging and contemplating the disruptive and often uncomfortable truths that remain unresolved.

-    Seunga You (DCW 2023) 

“I want to start with the recognition that we can intervene in the future, and not just accept the coming future passively, but also sense that we can change the direction of the future. Let’s redesign the spaceship where different beings live together in one space. Such a design will require the blueprints of many people. By exchanging and examining our blueprints, we will realize how many beings are excluded by a design tailored to just one person. . . . However, if we collectively review and continuously revise these numerous blueprints, we might be able to create a different future.”

In response to questions surrounding aging, disability, and sexuality, the passage shared by Yumi Choi from William MacAskill’s What We Owe the Future resonates with me. It invites us to reconsider the thick, straight narratives we often encounter, urging us to value the importance of experiencing the rough, uneven edges that exist around such narratives. What should we do after recognizing these complexities? Choi suggests that we should not rush to erase or smooth them out but rather embrace them, engaging in a process of continuous revision through her “patchwork” metaphor. This involves weaving together diverse experiences and perspectives while showcasing the stitching that binds them. IF asked how this could be put into practice, one could answer that those of us involved in exhibition organization have the opportunity to share these stories through the exhibition format, akin to assembling a patchwork quilt or creating a blueprint. 

-    Sangyeop Rhii (DCW 2023)

“I think our genomes resemble each other more than we often realize, even if one of women is rendered silent in matters of reproduction due to age, and the other through sterilization. Undoubtedly, there is a molecular imprint of our interaction embedded within the genetic blueprint of life that we leave behind in this world. . . .
At our core, we are companion species. We forge one another within the confines of our bodies.”

Years ago, I encountered Yumi Choi through an online lecture titled “Aesthetics, Philosophy, and Art.” Recently, I found a diary entry from that first lecture, featuring insights from both Choi and Donna Haraway. During the recent seminar, Choi guided the conversation with insightful responses and further questions on topics such as women, sexuality, and post-humanism. I found myself reflecting on Becoming a Cyborg, a book by writer and lawyer Kim Won Young and novelist Kim Cho Yeop. In the chapter, “Seamless Design and Joint Labor,” critiques the romanticization and idealization of achieving a seamless state where machine and body merge to representing the pinnacle of “seamlessness.” Kim Won Young wraps up the chapter by suggesting that “our advantage over the tech elite might be our willingness to navigate the rough, to stretch into the unexpected crevices.” We are inherently rough around the edges. We mirror and construct each other through our interactions. Now is the time to partner with and generously embrace all manner of works while accepting the risk of friction and irregularities.

-    Jieon Lee (DCW 2023)