The Last Scene, 2023



Solo Exhibition The Last Scene at Alternative Space Loop, Seoul

Installation view of The Last Scene at Alternative Space Loop, Seoul
 The Last Scene explored sadomasochistic imagery in the climactic moments of religion and popular culture. K-pop music videos and live performances often evoke religious and apocalyptic fantasies. A notable example is the "ending fairy," where the camera captures a close-up of an idol’s face at the end of a performance. Fans celebrate this moment, as the idol composes a serene expression after the physical demands of singing and dancing. The tension between their sweat-drenched face, laboured breathing, and tranquil expression creates a striking duality of sanctity and sensuality. This moment parallels religious depictions of saints, particularly in Christian art that portrays Christ’s suffering and resurrection. Judgment Day in religious texts and the final act of a K-pop performance share a theatricality racing toward a climactic peak. K-pop’s crescendo mirrors contemporary culture’s obsession with capturing the pinnacle of emotion for consumption. These endlessly consumed moments reflect humanity’s fixation on idealised figures, akin to the perpetual consumption of Christ’s eternally youthful image in religious iconography. 
Last Scenes, 2023, three channel video (loop)

 
Vow of Revenge, 2023, mixed media with iron and Jesmonite casting, 160x70x55cm


 
Enrapture, 2022, mixed media with wood, lenticular print, 180x95x4cm


LOOK, 2022, mixed media, with iron, aluminum, clay, a neon light, a light stick, 3D printed resin, iPhone ((AR face mask), 115x75x30cm



The project MetaTemple was presented in July 2022 as part of the Terracotta Friendship initiative, a collaboration between MMCA and Documenta15. Beginning with a personal exploration of the tensions between religion and queerness, the project expanded to research queer religiosity within broader cultural contexts and queer movements within religious spaces. It was showcased through exhibitions and forums within a metaverse platform, proposing MetaTemple as an alternative sacred space where those excluded by heteronormative values could coexist.

The project stemmed from the question: “Where do our imaginations for a better life and society originate?” It explores how these imaginings are made possible and how they foster sustainable solidarity and community, anchored by the concept of friendship. By focusing on this seemingly simple term, MetaTemple invites participants to reflect on the shared question, “What is friendship?” and examines its potential to create alternative ways of living and connecting.


MetaTemple, 2022, single channel video, 14’02”
Commissioned by the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art



Photo by Nara Shin