The pair of shoes in the video is lying in unusual places such as on streets, roads, or railroads. When people see them at places in Battle Ground, they might nod their heads and ask themselves this question: “Why are they there?”

People are usually able to understand an object after they experience it. Regardless of whether it has been manufactured or not, every object has an appropriate function or purpose. When people see an object, they expect it to be something based on their own experience of what it is and what its function is. Through this process, people can readily imagine where the object should be.

The work with a pair of YELLOW SHOES is based on empiricism, in which there is the belief that people should rely on practical experience and experiments as a basis for knowledge. The shoes must not be lying on the ground unless they have been thrown away; usually, everyone expects them to be worn on the feet.

I photographed this pair of shoes in the environment of Battle Ground as still pictures and manipulated them to make a video. I plan to display different sizes of monitors on the wall to show a series of pictures. This way, viewers can simultaneously see the real pair of yellow shoes along with the yellow line in the Lion’s Club Building in the background of one of the pictures.

While I was taking the still pictures, many people who were passing by these places saw either me or my yellow object and they sometimes asked me what I was doing. Taking photos with yellow shoes in Battle Ground was very fascinating work for me, and meeting the residents was also pleasant because I could really enjoy the environment of Battle Ground.

by JONG-UN CHOI