Young-Hae Change Heavy Industries, TEASER 2010
Young-Hae Chang Heavy Industries were among the first artists to explore the possibilities of making internet or net art
Following the launch of web browsers in the 1990s, artists began to experiment with the internet as a medium for creating new art experiences. The web allowed artists to exhibit their work without the endorsement of an institution. Then, as now, net art transcended geographical and cultural boundaries, while also challenging prejudice and aesthetic conformity within the art world.
Young-Hae Chang Heavy Industries (YHCHI) is a collective consisting of the Korean artist Young-Hae Chang and the North American artist Marc Voge. They make digital text-based works with original music soundtracks. YHCHI draw on concrete or abstract poetry, narrative literature and experimental cinema. Their work explores a wide range of social and political issues, from the excess and futility of the art world, to the dangers of climate change.
For over 20 years, YHCHI’s primary medium was the multimedia software platform ‘Flash’. This software was often used to create web-based animations. The artists have described it as ‘cheap and easy’. The accessibility of Flash resonates with the open unrestricted values of net art. In the words of YHCHI: ‘All you need is your own website and an Internet connection, and you no longer need things like an artists’ studio. You no longer need to be in London.’
YHCHI continue to adapt their work for different contexts, while also responding to shifts in technology. Today these works can be experienced both online and in a gallery setting. The process of conserving and displaying net art is explored as part of Reshaping the Collectible: When Artworks Live in the Museum, an Andrew W. Mellon funded research initiative at Tate.