Statement

I explore sexuality, queerness, popular and subcultures, BDSM, and religion through sculpture, performance, and visual languages. My work originates from a deep interest in religion. Born and raised in a Christian family, with my father as a pastor, I realised early on that I was queer, creating tension between my identity and my religious upbringing.

Despite this conflict, I became fascinated by the parallels between religion and queerness. My work investigates these tensions, dismantling binary structures and reconstructing categorisations. Through this process, I critique social rationality and its preservation of norms while uncovering the energy and potential of beings existing outside these systems.

I am particularly interested in the religious mechanisms within popular and subcultures. By using K-pop as a cultural language, I experiment with narratives of decolonisation, Christianity, shamanism, queerness, and Asianness. For instance, I have explored colonised queerness through K-pop and BDSM performances or visualised the clash of Asianness and queerness by merging Korean shamanism with queerness in a K-pop framework.

I am also drawn to the subversive power dynamics of BDSM, especially how domination and submission operate within social, cultural, and religious contexts. Sadomasochism’s power relations connect to themes of decolonisation, queerness, and subculture in my work.

Ultimately, I aim to express the religious, political, and social tensions found within popular and subcultures while challenging norms, encouraging audiences to reconsider assumptions. My practice explores the significance of marginalised beings, transforming their energy into resonant visual expressions.

Photo by Jungwoo Park
Courtesy of ODDA Korea