Opening on August 15th from 5:00 to 7:00 PM. The artist will be present throughout the entire exhibition period!
The human eye is a gateway to the world around us. Its iris plays a crucial role in seeing by regulating the amount of light, just like the shutter of a camera can artificially mimic this. In addition, the iris acts as a hallmark of unique human identity, similar to fingerprints. The iris forms the first connection between humans and the world through the use of light. Although the iris and pupil are often considered typically human, other animals, such as birds, also have highly sophisticated visual systems. This prompts us to think about the relationship between humans and other animals.
Jeong Han Kim, media artist and professor at Seoul National University’s Department of Painting, holds a Ph.D. in Cognitive Science and several M.F.A.’s, including in Film, Video and New Media. Combining his academic and artistic background, Kim is working his way through the pathological conditions of the eye. BRADWOLFF PROJECTS’ space, formerly a civilian hospital operating theatre, with dome structure reminiscent of an eyeball, raises the question of whether architecture can be seen as an organ that responds to light. The exhibition ‘BirdMan’s Irises Ophthalmic Surgery’ shows the results of Kim’s artistic exploration of these questions.
This exhibition explores the perception of seeing, with a particular focus on human identity in this day and age. Through the fusion of art, science and technology, Kim reveals an intriguing exploration of the relationship between humans and nature, light and identity. Kim’s project is rooted in a deep interest in 4E cognition (Embodied, Embedded, Enacted, Extended), extending the concept of perception to the body and the environment. This manifests itself in his exploration of ophthalmology, where he presents eye surgery as an artistic experiment to hybridise the human eye with that of a bird. This approach offers a fascinating view of human perception, blurring the boundaries between the human and non-human.
Kim’s long-running ‘BirdMan’ series, which he has been working on since 2006, provides the foundation for his current project. This series revolves around an imaginary creature, half human and half bird, who embodies the imperfection of both humanity and animality. Exploring identity and perception is central to this series, which reveals an imagined universe that is both virtual and real.
Jeong Han Kim’s work has been exhibited internationally and he has received several grants and awards, including a Fulbright Scholarship, the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council Swing Space Grant, and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund Starr Foundation Fellowship. Kim’s exhibitions include “EMC (Emergent Mind of City) I” in the media art biennale Media City Seoul at Seoul Museum of Art and “EMC III” in ‘Infosphäre’ curated by Peter Wiebel, at ZKM, Karlsruhe, Germany. His impressive academic background is evident in the versatility of the works Kim creates.
more info about the artist: https://kimjeonghan.com
