visitseoul.net

Gallery Jiwooheon is pleased to announce a two-person exhibition titled Dokkaebi: Multi Persona by Shunita and Oh Jeisung from 22 May to 22 June. 
This exhibition extends and reinterprets the concept of ‘Korean fantasy’ that emerged in the domestic novel scene in the early 2000s into the realm of art. Through a perspective that encompasses both tradition and modernity, it aims to present a new form of visual fantasy by combining Korea's unique cultural elements with an exploration of identity in contemporary society. Unlike the typical images seen in media, Dokkaebi with unclear origins and sources, and Multi persona referring to an individual's diverse identities in digital culture, these two concepts evoke something mysterious and unpredictable. In this context, two artists, Shunita and Oh Jeisung, who approach fantasy structures in their own ways, collaborate. Shunita's Moomyeong(nameless) is the artist's signature character that reflects the empty inner self of modern people. Moomyeong, an alien who came to Earth, takes on various appearances in relationships with humans. Its simple yet ambiguous gestures, colorful monochrome fur, round body, and flexible limbs give a strange sense of familiarity. Moomyeong dramatically represents the empty emotions in one corner of the young generation who use multiple identities in the digital world as a breakthrough in life, while simultaneously reflecting some substance behind the Multi persona. Oh Jeisung is an artist who has gained attention for his research-based sculptural work that investigates and archives undesignated cultural properties across the country. Various folk sculptures such as animals from Folktales, Dokkaebi, Abandoned dolmens, and Stone Maitreyas are reinterpreted in a contemporary context in his works, gaining contemporary forms. In this exhibition, he presents works that newly adapt the attributes of Dokkaebi from folk tales, which have been around humans, sometimes helping and sometimes hindering, but still with unclear forms, by grafting them onto the belief in the twelve zodiac animals. His work, which commemorates marginalized folk sculptures and revives folktales and legends as modern sculptures, offers a new interpretation of Korean fantasy. 
Dokkaebi: Multi Persona is an exhibition that calls upon imaginary beings infused with human life history from a modern perspective and loosely sketches the past and present of Korean fantasy. Through this, we aim to provide an opportunity to contemplate together the unique imagination of our culture and the identity of modern society