LISEOK graduated with a degree in visual design. He works as an artist across various fields, including media performance, international organization campaigns, and fashion. He is currently lives and works in Paris, France.
LISEOK
has held solo exhibition 《FRAME: The Edge of All
Grounds》 (Art Space Hohwa, Seoul, 2024).
LISEOK has also participated in numerous group
exhibitions, such as 《Heritage: The Future Fantasy》 (DDP, Seoul, 2025), 《Transcendencia: La
vida》 (Korean Cultural Center in Argentina, Buenos
Aires, 2024), and 《Hi, Light》
(KOO HOUSE MUSEUM, Yangpyeong, 2022).
LISEOK’s
work begins with reconstructing the relationship between nature, humans, and
technology through the concepts of “light” and “frame.” He assumes nature as an
infinite entity, and by imposing the finite boundary of a “frame” onto it, he
questions the very way we perceive nature. As seen in the ‘FRAME’ series, which
began in 2018, the artist intervenes in natural landscapes with artificial
light to create scenes where reality and unreality intersect, transforming
familiar landscapes into unfamiliar sensory experiences.
This
approach expands beyond simply representing nature to revealing the perceptual
structures through which humans view it. In works such
as FRAME2021-CHT(2021), light functions not as a tool
to illuminate nature, but as a device that cuts across and segments it. Through
this, the artist exposes moments where nature and humans, environment and
technology collide and intersect, while exploring the dissonance in perception
that arises in between.
In the
2022 work ENTER(2022), this line of inquiry extends to
the relationship between technology and humans. Set against the backdrop of a
“hyper-connected” society accelerated in the aftermath of COVID-19, the artist
focuses on the idea that while artificial intelligence may surpass human
capabilities, the domain of “sensation” still remains uniquely human. The
structure of a narrow, elongated passage leading to a screen metaphorically
suggests a threshold into a new world, visually conveying the anxiety and
confusion of confronting a technology-driven reality.
In the
recent solo exhibition 《FRAME: The Edge
of All Grounds》(Art Space Hohwa, Seoul, 2024), this
exploration of the relationship between nature and humans becomes more
structurally articulated. Into the Frame(2024)
and Bruised Flame(2024) combine themes of hyper-connectivity,
sensory loss, and cycles of creation and extinction, presenting the
relationship between nature, technology, and humans as a complex sensory
structure. In this process, the artist’s focus shifts from viewing nature to examining
the very conditions in which nature and humans coexist.
LISEOK has
developed his practice based on projection mapping and media façade techniques.
Projecting images onto the surfaces of architectural exteriors or natural
environments—as seen in projects such as the PyeongChang Olympic Cauldron, Oil
Tank Culture Park, and Daegu Arts Center—his work expands into forms integrated
with public space. In these works, light functions as an immaterial medium that
replaces physical materials and reconfigures space.
In the
‘FRAME’ series, this technological foundation shifts into natural environments.
Light projected onto elements such as mountains, rocks, and trees functions as
a kind of “window,” transforming real landscapes into constructed images. Here,
the combination of photography, video, and installation operates not merely as
visual representation, but as an environmental device that alters how viewers
perceive space. In particular, the use of solar energy enables a minimal mode
of intervention that does not damage nature.
In ENTER,
spatial staging is combined with sound, making the viewer’s bodily experience
central. The structure of passing through a narrow passage and encountering a
video and sound at its end draws the viewer into a continuous flow, creating an
immersive environment that extends beyond visual experience. This demonstrates
a shift in media work from being something to look at, to something to be
experienced.
In the
recent work MUNYEE(2025), the expansion of medium takes
another direction. By translating the movements of Taekwondo poomsae into light
and sound, the work transforms bodily rhythm and patterns into abstract
imagery. Within a structure combining multi-channel displays and sound,
movement condenses into moments of stillness, while sound functions as an
element that extends physical rhythm. Through this, LISEOK’s work expands from
nature and environment toward the sensory dimensions of the body and time.
A defining characteristic of LISEOK’s work is his use of “light”
as a language. In his practice, light does not merely function as a visual
effect, but as a medium that connects and reveals the relationships between
nature, humans, and technology. In particular, the concept of the “frame”
operates as a device that structures these relationships, reconfiguring the
very way nature is perceived.
LISEOK’s media sensibility not only effectively manifests
technical and visual effects, but also closely engages with issues of
perception. Rather than focusing on spectacle itself, he attends to the shifts
in sensation and perception that such spectacle produces, encouraging viewers
to perceive the familiar world in unfamiliar ways. In doing so, while
addressing the relationship between nature and technology, his work ultimately
centers on human sensory experience.
From media façade works in public spaces, to the ‘FRAME’ series in
natural environments, and more recently to installations combining sound and
embodied experience, the trajectory of his practice can be understood as a
gradual expansion of the sensory range that can be articulated through the
language of light.
Moving forward, his work will continue to vary fluidly across
media such as projection, installation, sound, and multi-channel environments.
Ultimately, LISEOK’s practice gains its strength from enabling us to re-sense a
world we assume we already know, leaving open the possibility for continuously
generating new scenes at that point of perception.
KOO HOUSE Museum presents the exhibition 《Hi, Light – When Light Meets Art》. Featuring artists such as James Turrell, Olafur Eliasson, Jung Jungju, and Hwang Suntae, the exhibition introduces works across painting, sculpture, installation, media, and design that explore light itself, its properties, or utilize its characteristics as a central theme.
“My work has no object, no image and no focus. Without them, what are you looking at? You are looking at you looking.”
– James Turrell
“Light,” which makes objects visible in the world, is a fundamental element of human perception and visual art. Changes in how light is represented in art can be understood as the history of painting itself. From Renaissance works expressing form through chiaroscuro, to classical compositions using light and shadow for dramatic effect, to Impressionists attempting to capture light itself on canvas, innovative approaches to the “image” as an illusion of light have marked key moments in art history.
Since conceptual art, artists of the 20th century have gained freedom from traditional media and materials, moving beyond representation to materialize light itself as an artistic medium. Works emerged that utilize artificial light sculpturally (Dan Flavin) or allow viewers to physically experience light, entering into it or sensing its warmth (James Turrell, Olafur Eliasson).
Although we cannot directly see light, it is through light that we perceive the world. Light is the origin of seeing, revealing the existence of things. As such, it remains a continuous source of inspiration for artists, expressed in diverse ways depending on changes in artistic media and technological advancement.
In painting, light appears as color. Choi Sujin draws inspiration from the act of selecting and mixing paint, presenting figures engaged in various activities through color. Hong Sungjun recreates infinite skies and deep waters through layered color fields, revealing light in painting as illusion.
Hwang Suntae presents scenes where objects gain visibility and presence through light. Jung Jungju records changes in light over time, particularly within architecture and interior spaces, through 3D animation and façade installations reminiscent of urban nightscapes.
Shin Bongchul visualizes light through colored shadows by intervening with glass at the moment sunlight reaches the earth. Media artist LISEOK expresses the confusion of a rapidly changing era shaped by the pandemic and technological advancement through projection-based installations using light.
James Turrell, often referred to as a “magician of light,” allows viewers to physically experience subtle changes in light within space. Heo Subin’s works mimic the temperature and brightness of natural sunlight to the extent that they can be mistaken for real daylight. Olafur Eliasson, who collaborates with scientists to recreate natural phenomena through interdisciplinary approaches, presents works evoking the image of a sunset sea using light and glass. The Italian design group Mandalaki Studio also reproduces scenes resembling sunset light and planetary views in space with refined precision.
With recent technological developments, light has been realized in increasingly experimental and diverse forms through art, expanding the range of meanings and expressions it can convey. Through 《Hi, Light – When Light Meets Art》, visitors can encounter various manifestations of light and experience a wide spectrum of emotions—hope, liberation, beginning, vitality, passion, warmth, sublimity, awe, glory, longing, and memory.
