Poster image of 《Shrinking World, Nomadic Utopians》 © Artist Residency TEMI

The "dreamer = artist" moves in search of their own utopia or dystopia—an ideal that remains forever out of reach yet is ceaselessly pursued—encountering places, people, and objects in the quest for artistic inspiration. In particular, technological advances have compressed time and space, allowing bodies, objects, images, and messages to move freely and rapidly within an increasingly "shrinking world."

In this changing world, dreamers traverse boundaries in their own ways, engaging in "movement = nomadism" and leaving behind a continuous flow of traces, both large and small. As Henri Lefebvre anticipated, in contemporary society, where new spatial networks and mobility within and across social boundaries have become increasingly important, artists move constantly, existing as unfamiliar yet not alien figures who enjoy the benefits of modern society perhaps more than anyone else.

Moreover, as contemporary art has increasingly come to be understood as "a series of activities and projects rather than the production of artworks, anonymous collaborations, or fragments emerging from community-oriented projects," encounters and the relationships that arise from them have come to occupy a central place in the concept of art.

Through movement, these relationships have emerged and expanded in diverse forms, sometimes unexpectedly and sometimes beyond expectations. When artistic imagination is added to these encounters, they can occasionally bring about change. Such changes may be visually perceptible to everyone or, on a smaller scale, create ripples in an individual's life.


Jaeyeon Chung, Dialogue, 2014, Lamp, dimmer, reading stand, 100 x 90 x 160 cm © Jaeyeon Chung

These ideas of "movement = nomadism" and "forming relationships" align with the vision of Artist Residency TEMI, which has sought to challenge and transcend boundaries through art and the "artist = dreamer."

The seven artists have used TEMI as their base, crossing boundaries in their own ways and forming relationships whose possibilities remain open-ended. Now, they are preparing to set out in search of another ideal world. The ideals they envision are neither imaginary nor fictional, but rather experiments and challenges directed toward the realization of a better utopia.

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