Photo Story
In their first joint exhibition, Every Place is Also Another, Mar Ramón Soriano and Paul Mok engage in a compelling exploration of the relationship between manmade and natural materials within the Yi gallery space. The exhibition celebrates the ordinary, featuring concrete, conduits, plants, clay, and canvas that respond to and resist the force of gravity.
Soriano’s sculptures feature stacked modules, creating vertical structures that evoke physical tension. Ropes are used to connect and support the elements. Ceramics symbolize the fragility of the human body, embodying emptiness, form, and volume. The interplay between soft and hard materials aims to establish a connection between the viewers and their own physical presence.
One of Soriano’s notable installations is If I collect a lot of bodies I can be as long as I want to be (2022-2023) from the Infinite Vase series. Through repetition, smaller elements define and shape the gallery space. Canvas is used sculpturally, blurring the boundaries between materials and bodies. forced meetings, pleasant meetings I (2023) showcases a soap sculpture, reflecting on body care and daily routines while alluding to the concept of foam. Soriano draws inspiration from Peter Sloterdijk’s writings on foam, symbolizing the interconnected network of relationships between bodies and objects.
Paul Mok’s artworks explore common building elements, such as electrical conduits and outlets. The centerpiece of his installation, Flip (2020-2023), is a single light switch that commands attention. Surrounding the switch is an intricate landscape crafted from poured concrete, wooden bases, and miniature clay figures. Mok’s use of concrete is influenced by his visit to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial, where the resilience of nature amidst ruins left a lasting impression.
You Are Living Someone Else’s Dream (2023) by Mok revolves around a long “table” resembling a broken concrete slab. Paper fragments scattered on the table offer glimpses into the artist’s contemplation, representing the search for meaning within personal circumstances.
The installation incorporates various objects, including industrial building materials, childhood photographs, handmade clay sculptures, and living plants. It creates an immersive environment where remnants of humanity coexist with decaying infrastructure, highlighting the tension between individual identity and societal expectations.
Every Place is Also Another presents a convergence of artistic visions as Mar Ramón Soriano and Paul Mok explore the interplay of materials, forms, and narratives. The exhibition transforms the gallery space into a realm where gravity, connections, and everyday objects intertwine. Visitors are invited to reflect on their own bodies, experiences, and the intricate relationships that shape our existence.
Mar Ramón Soriano (b. 1993, Valencia, Spain) lives and works in Niñodaguia, Ourense, a small Galician town with a strong ceramic tradition. After studying fine arts at the University of Vigo, Ramón received her Ph.D. with a research in Gender as a Process in Object Art in 2022. She has participated in residencies in Spain and Portugal and is currently conducting independent research at the Observational Practice Lab / Parsons School of Design on a Fulbright scholarship. She has exhibited in CGAC (Santiago) and MARCO (Vigo) and has had solo exhibitions, including Foams, sponges (ArteSantander 2022), The infinite vase (Zona C, 2022), Empathic systems (Alterarte, 2022), A curve a wave a body (Art Mustang, 2021) and The Optimal Form/Shape (ARCO Madrid / Galería Nordés 2021).
Through a proliferation of textures and complex constellations of objects, visual artist, designer, and architect Paul Mok (b. 1990, Hong Kong) embeds his nuanced aesthetic language into the surfaces of industrial materials and extends into the psychological realm—dismantling material hierarchy and collapsing distinctions among categories. Mok lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. Mok graduated with a bachelor’s degree in architectural studies from the University of Hong Kong and amaster’s degree in architecture from the Harvard Graduate School of Design. He has exhibited at venues such as New Collectors, Art on Paper at Pier 36, Gallery GAIA and Art Mora Gallery. He has been featured in publications such as Cultured Magazine, Wallpaper, Whitehot Magazine, FAD, Art Spiel, Pattern, and Cultbyte. In 2022, Mok was named one of the Young Architects by Cultured Magazine.
Photo by Adam Reich. Courtesy of Yi Gallery and the artists
Early Place is Also Another through July 22nd, 2023 Yi Gallery Industry City, building 2 254 36th Street, Suite B634 Brooklyn, NY 11232