Ji Yong-Ho

Korean artist Ji Yong-Ho (b. 1978) combines various types of tires to create unusual realistic sculptures of animals. In Lion 2 he used stainless steel structures, in order to express the dynamic features of four-legged animal. The limbs of the Lion 2 are elaborated with shredded motorcycle tires and the fur is represented with turned out tires. Tires are a medium that translate what the artist means to express most sufficiently. The black tires are reminiscent of industrialization, which includes industrial material, industrial wastes, and even environmental pollution. He focuses on mutated animals and especially on artificial mutation. His works seem terrorizing and strong but the truth is that they are fragile and unstable. Yong Ho Ji's intention is to send a message of warning on environmental destruction and a human-caused threat to itself.