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281 Karangahape Rd Auckland

Sung Hwan Bobby Park

B.T.M. (Ceramic helmets)

$320.00

"B.T.M (방탄모 bang tan mo) is a collection of ceramic bulletproof helmets that are inspired by my own experience in the Korean military.

As a queer person going through this mandatory conscription, I experienced first hand how fragile my existence was under the Korean military law 92-6 which criminalized homosexuality. Even though I was wearing this supposedly indestructible protective gear, the threat of violence came within the organization I had to be apart of in order to keep my citizenship which is significant for my identity. I made B.T.M with clay to reflect the vulnerability of the individual's body and question what we are protecting ourselves from and where the threat comes from.

Also, the B.T.M is a representation of the institution and its policies. Establishments and their rules are often regarded as sacred. But if they discriminate toward the very people that serve them, those rules and attitudes must be evaluated and reconstituted. So I invite the idea; those seemingly indestructible and sacred organizations and policies should be broken so that we can build a better one which eliminates discrimination for all people. B.T.M is a helmet for everybody. Celebrate our fragile bodies and our identities, whoever we may be."

-Sung Hwan Bobby Park