Bokyung Kim, The Speed of Sensation, 2022, Oil and acrylic on canvas, 72.7x72.7cm © Bokyung Kim

Today, terms such as the media age and digital generation are used naturally. Exposed to an environment in which the technological medium called “media” changes the ways humans perceive and recognize things, we live in an age in which we do not use technology merely as a tool, but “adapt” to technology-media.

Therefore, all media are extensions of ourselves, and each new technology functions as a new scale introduced to us. In this exhibition, one can find a belief in considering the outline of the self expanded within diverse forms of media and, based on this, seeking an ultimate fusion between technology and each individual artist.

Bokyung Kim embeds in her work the moment of selection that takes place within an environment overflowing with images in media, as well as harmony and balance within random and irregular forms. The images the artist sees are like separating a single “moment” from the flow of time. The aggregates formed according to moments of selection may be distorted or replaced depending on the senses we possess.

However, the artist says that even within the subconscious of sensation—that is, within the unconscious—harmony and balance for the recovery of one’s own order are formed according to personal identity. Through her work, the artist hopes that each of us will discover and confront our own senses and inner unexpectedness.

The character Mallo works with was born from the artist’s own complex about malocclusion. The artist reveals a critical view of the generalization of totalizing images packaged through the private ideal image used in media such as advertisements and photographs. The character with malocclusion conveys a positive message, living brightly and confidently while regarding external difference as an individual’s unique personality.

Lee Kihoon composes his works with objects such as characters commonly encountered in media, including animation and film, as well as Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and soldiers. Each object contains metaphorical meaning. For example, characters from animation or film, such as Mickey Mouse, symbolize illusion and distortion, while religious objects such as Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and angels symbolize double standards.

Language functions like a kind of information search that can quickly classify all the environments and experiences to which we belong. However, the metaphorical sense that transforms experiences learned through media into new forms generates illusion and distortion of memory through the language habits acquired by the individual, and reconstructs the present.

The artist fills the gap of “language, illusion, and the present” in his work with objects, reconstructing it as “an illusion closest to fact.”

Lee Jihoon understands the clear characteristics of anxiety and violence that technological innovation brings into our minds. By presenting the concept of “intermediate sculpture” in his work, he shows an attempt to resist or neutralize the collective pressure and stimulation of the digital environment produced by technology.

The physical devices of his work transmit contradictory emotional agitation and ruptures of sensation, such as intimidation, overwhelming force, discomfort, unfamiliarity, and awe, through subtle mechanical sounds, cool wind, and sharply contrasting illumination. At the same time, it is like adjusting the ratio of subtle sensations before our conscious functions become paralyzed by the impact of a new technological revolution.

All media are extensions of human senses. Perhaps now is the time when an implosion is needed—an internal expansion that steadily changes the ratio of sensation or the standards of perception without resistance to the influence of media and technological innovation.

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