Language
The way of the 108 gods – Starbucks
Ji Min-seok - Contemporary Shaman's Brand Gods
These colorful banners are Ji Min-seok's "108 Divine Multitude Painting." Working between Korea and Mexico, Ji defines himself as "contemporary shaman.“
Starting from Korean painting tradition, Ji reinterprets shamanic faith and Buddhist painting into today's visual language, transforming global brands into deified beings.
Using Buddhist "divine multitude painting" format, corporations appear as "gods"—Starbucks becomes god with green halo, Coca-Cola becomes being holding red holy water.
Colorful cloth pieces recall traditional Buddhist paintings or ceremonial rituals, making exhibition space temple-like, letting audiences experience "consumption" as contemporary faith.
"Character painting" series shows newly created characters inspired by brand logos. Borrowing Chinese character formats, they possess both symbolism and beauty as contemporary shamanism spirits.
Ji questions what we worship today, noting visual language power and logos' mythical functions while reconstructing relationships between myth and capital.
The artist says artists are mediators creating today's myths. Ji's works don't force faith but induce discovering sacredness in objects we mindlessly pass, where familiar becomes strange and tradition reborns as contemporary language.
Starting from Korean painting tradition, Ji reinterprets shamanic faith and Buddhist painting into today's visual language, transforming global brands into deified beings.
Using Buddhist "divine multitude painting" format, corporations appear as "gods"—Starbucks becomes god with green halo, Coca-Cola becomes being holding red holy water.
Colorful cloth pieces recall traditional Buddhist paintings or ceremonial rituals, making exhibition space temple-like, letting audiences experience "consumption" as contemporary faith.
"Character painting" series shows newly created characters inspired by brand logos. Borrowing Chinese character formats, they possess both symbolism and beauty as contemporary shamanism spirits.
Ji questions what we worship today, noting visual language power and logos' mythical functions while reconstructing relationships between myth and capital.
The artist says artists are mediators creating today's myths. Ji's works don't force faith but induce discovering sacredness in objects we mindlessly pass, where familiar becomes strange and tradition reborns as contemporary language.