Sung Hwan Kim. Protected by roof and right-hand muscles

About

The World in Stories

In his works, Sung Hwan Kim (*1975, Seoul) functions as a narrator who engages with layered histories; and employs folklore, myths, gossip and rumors as means of access to his multilayered installations.

Kim weaves together video, music, light, performance, drawing, and sculpture in the exhibition space, building potential for shifting audience perspectives and trajectories by making use of the architectural. The Honolulu-based artist develops a unique narrative approach to themes such as migration and immigration, translation and renewal.

“…[H]ow does one really care about the trouble beyond a national border, let alone the border of one’s skin?” (Sung Hwan Kim)

Kim, as exhibition designer, creates a unique architectural environment for his installations, highlighting in nuanced ways the theme of “borders,” and exploring various states of subjectivity.

Sung Hwan Kim at ZKM

The exhibition »Sung Hwan Kim. Protected by roof and right-hand muscles« brings together Sung Hwan Kim's works from more than two decades as the largest solo exhibition in Europe to date. It was first shown at the Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven (Netherlands) and curated by Yolande Zola Zoli van der Heide (original concept by Sung Hwan Kim). It was developed in cooperation with Framer Framed, Amsterdam, the ZKM | Karlsruhe and the Art Sonje Center, Seoul, South Korea. In Eindhoven as well as at the ZKM, Sung Hwan Kim himself conceived the staging and exhibition design and developed the lighting and sound concept in collaboration with David Michael DiGregorio, specifically for the respective locations. The exhibition will be accompanied by a comprehensive publication on the artist's work.