VETEMANS — notforuse

SUPER-
POSITION

“Super Position” is an experimental project that challenges viewers with a new perspective at the intersection of reality and the digital, genuine and fake. One main body of our work embodies conceptual fashion items: We've collected both original items and their replicas, integrating them into a single piece. For instance, you will encounter a Balenciaga cap comprising 50% of the original product and 50% of the replica. The same concept applies to an Adidas training suit, Burberry jacket, Nike Jordan shoes, and more.

These works will be exhibited for the first time at Galerie Erstererster Berlin starting on 25.11.2023.

Mik Nim x Tomic Lee

Fashion Designers:
Sanghee Cho,
Dain Lee

Further info www.miknim.com
Insta : @miknim_
minkim

www.leetomic.com
Insta : @notforuse.works

Jordan, a mixture of Air Jordan 1 and its replica, 29x15x9cm

Balenciaga Cap, a mixture of Balenciaga Cap and its replica, 16x13x27cm

Supreme Jumper, a mixture of Supreme Jumper and its replica, 57x73cm

Burberry Blouson, a mixture of Burberry Blouson and its replica, 50x69cm

Tommy Hilfiger Bucket Hat, a mixture of Tommy Hilfiger Bucket Hat and its replica, 27x27x17cm

Adidas Originals Track Jacket, a mixture of Adidas Originals Track Jacket and its replica, 50x67cm

25.11-04.12.2023

Installation view
at Galerie Erstererster

Pappelallee 69, 10437 Berlin

Photo ⓒmiknim

About Exhibition
Giant billboards featuring Nike shoes that look like advertisements, Balenciaga hats, and clothes with logos from brands like Supreme and Adidas are displayed. Massive boxes, cement, panels, and beams that resemble a warehouse create the impression of a fashion showroom preparing for a grand opening. However, upon closer inspection of the clothes on display, something seems off. The signature three stripes of an Adidas jacket, meticulously placed, have been reduced to two, and the lengths of the sleeves are asymmetrical. Brand tags are also doubled. Examining a Tommy Hilfiger hat and a Burberry jacket reveals subtly different textures in the two attached fabrics.

In this peculiar space that feels like a fashion show or a new showroom opening, the exhibition Superposition, a collaboration between MIK NIM and Tomic Lee, challenges viewers with a new perspective at the intersection of reality and digital, and genuine and fake. Tomic Lee, working as a Creative in an advertising company, created this project as part of his personal series “Not for Use”. Mixing replicas and originals in half, he produces hybrid items. This act can be seen as a form of rebellion or resistance in an industry that demands “make sesne” in everything, for example, reference collection, client persuasion, and better selling.

Tomic Lee’s works remind MIK NIM of her project in 2021, Schrödinger’s Gallery. The work reinterprets Erwin Schrödinger’s famous physics thought experiment involving a cat as a virtual gallery. Unable to visit physical galleries during the COVID-era, she observed the proliferation of digital exhibitions and began questioning the importance of experiencing art in person. The Schrödinger’s Gallery, existing only as images on Instagram, reflects the paradoxical state of being an image-only gallery that does have a physical existence. MIK NIM builds a miniature gallery of approximately 1.5x1.2x1.0m, placing her artwork photos on the walls or integrating them with surrounding objects. These photos become her artworks, uploaded to Schrödinger’s Gallery Instagram account. Viewers scrolling through the images might question whether the gallery is real or not, due to the strange ambiguity. The attention-grabbing element in this exhibition is a giant green panel. Green, paradoxically representing nature and strongly associated with the digital realm, turns the background into a green screen when viewers take pictures. This allows the photographed items or images to be easily replaced or disappear.

The most peculiar artwork in the exhibition is a Brita water purifier with transparent water that appears to be purified as green. The statement “Belief has nothing to do with logic” is written nearby. MIK NIM recently spent one month in the city of Lübeck, meeting people and discussing their experiences. The questions raised during those conversations, the ongoing events, and the artist’s reflection on faith and logic are expressed through this work. MIK NIM by curating this exhibition within Schrödinger's Gallery, as if questioning whether it is art, an object, fake, real, tangible, or virtual. It prompts viewers to consider whether we can trust what we think and see. Similar to a cat being simultaneously in a state of life and death inside a box, the two artists in this space present numerous overlaps and contradictions, discussing things with unclear names and addresses but still existing.

Note: The Schrödinger’s hypothesis is as follows: By placing a cat in a box with an unstable atomic nucleus, which may emit radiation and release toxic gas, it is impossible to predict when or if such an event will occur without opening the box. According to Schrödinger, the cat enters a state of superposition where it’s unclear whether it’s alive ordead, leading to a paradox.

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