My Time, Your Time, and Space

Doki Kim explores the interactions between matter and energy through her artistic practice. In her previous exhibition 《GAM YEO GA》, Kim expressed her reflections on an empty house through works that employed heat as a medium.

“Introducing new energy into the world of energy that exists within an empty house is an event in itself. Perhaps it resembles an ‘encounter’ between us. Just as one might convey heartfelt warmth to another, I transmitted heat to the empty house, placing the environment and energy, rather than human beings, at the center.”
— From the artist's notes

The theme of this exhibition, 《Quantization》, refers to the process of quantization, which involves converting macroscopic physical phenomena into quantum-mechanical quantities applicable to microscopic phenomena. The emergence of quantum theory and the theory of relativity in the 20th century had a profound impact on society as a whole, extending far beyond the realm of natural science.

Quantum theory proposes that objects in the microscopic world exist in probabilistic and discontinuous states. In other words, it encompasses notions of chance, probability, and unpredictability. Even if we know the present, we cannot know what the future will bring. According to quantum theory, objects, including human beings, and the world itself do not exist with only one fixed set of properties. Rather, we are constituted by a superposition of diverse properties within ourselves.


Doki Kim, Quantum Dream, 2018, LED display, electrical wires, video (30 min), Dimensions variable © Doki Kim

In the work Quantum Dream, electrical wires are physically connected to a screen. These wires appear to overflow from an imaginary space within the screen. Although the monitor is flat and no such space could possibly exist inside it, the wires cascade downward like water pouring from a broken tank, inviting viewers to imagine a space within or beyond the screen.

Light bulbs attached to the ends of the wires glow brightly and beautifully in the darkness. Where does this light come from? One might say that it is produced by electricity flowing through the wires connected to the monitor. In fact, a video is playing on the screen. The video depicts significant moments in human life, from birth to death, presenting a condensed account of an entire lifetime.

The video consists of countless pixels. In other words, what we are witnessing is the transformation of our lives, recorded in the form of pixels, back into the form of light. What, then, are we actually seeing? Can we truly say that we are “seeing” scenes of birth and death? On the surface, are we not merely looking at wires and light?

Through this work, we are invited to consider such questions concerning representation and vision. At the same time, we are encouraged to reflect on the preciousness and beauty of human beings as individual existences, each represented by a single pixel or LED bulb, and of each life they lead.


Doki Kim, HereNow, 2018, Clock, motor © Doki Kim

“‘Times’ replace ‘time.’”
— From Einstein's Clocks, Poincaré's Maps

In HereNow, the artist expresses our experience of time through a clock that runs backward. The clock moves in reverse, and although its second hand appears to have stopped at this very moment, it is, in fact, still moving. The concept of time addressed here is “relative time.” According to the theory of relativity, time and space are relative to the observer, and time flows differently for each of us.

Within this relative passage of time, my “here and now” and your “here and now” are neither identical nor capable of remaining together forever; they merely intersect for a fleeting moment. In this way, the narrative reconnects with Quantum Dream. Living within the relative flow of time, we meet and part with one another, sharing moments together, yet we can never become identical beings. Each of us exists within our own time, shining with a light uniquely our own.

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