As interest in photography as a medium continues to grow, Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art presents a solo exhibition by Atta Kim—one of the most acclaimed photographers in Korea today—at Rodin Gallery. Having begun his practice as a self-taught photographer, Atta Kim gained attention in the mid-1980s through powerful series such as ‘Mental Patients,’ ‘Intangible Cultural Heritage,’ ‘Being-in-the-World,’ and ‘Deconstruction.’

Since 1995, his ‘Museum Project’ series—featuring nude human figures enclosed within transparent acrylic boxes—has gradually brought him international recognition. Through provocative works that question what it means to be human, Atta Kim has consistently sought to dismantle outdated ideologies and fixed perceptions of humanity and objects. Since 2002, the ‘ON-AIR Project’ has marked another major turning point in his practice.

In the ‘ON-AIR Project,’ Atta Kim develops his philosophy of existence through long exposure photography and image superimposition. By juxtaposing photography’s impulse to reproduce and record everything with his belief that “everything that exists eventually disappears,” he investigates the nature of existence itself.

This exhibition presents major works from the ‘ON-AIR Project’ previously shown at ICP New York in 2006, along with recent works from the ‘India’ series. In addition, key works from the ‘Deconstruction’ series (1991–1995) and the ‘Museum Project’ series (1995–2002) are presented in video form. Through these diverse methods, the exhibition offers insight into Atta Kim’s unique photographic aesthetics and his distinctly Eastern philosophical approach to existence.

References

• 《ATTA KIM : ON-AIR》