MMCA
About the Exhibition
The MMCA Hyundai Motor Series 2022: Choe U-Ram - Little Ark was a performance exhibition that reconstructed themes about modern life, invoking the range of thought-provoking questions that lie at the heart of the artist’s 30-year career.
Choe’s work engaged with two pivotal issues that have shaped contemporary life: the climate crisis and the pandemic. The escalation of anxiety and polarization caused by the most pressing issues of our time reveal the real portrait of an era of disorientation. In response, the artist constructed an exhibition with the “Little Ark” as the main theme, juxtaposing the contradictory desires that constitute the contemporary moment and providing a place for the audience to raise questions about where we are ultimately headed.
The black-colored piece “Round Table,” placed at the center of the Seoul Box gallery, was supported by 18 headless figures made from straw. The table was topped with a round head which rolled across the surface intermittently as the figures below fought to conquer it. Hovering above was three Black Birds, rotating slowly and observing the struggle taking place below. Who will get hold of the head? Who will be the loser? Who will be able to escape this strife?
The main piece of the exhibition, “Little Ark,” was a symbolic ark made of heavy iron and recycled cardboard boxes fitted with cutting-edge technology. Thirty-five pairs of oars stood up like a wall that cuts off then begins a majestic dance as if spreading its wings. Elsewhere in the exhibition, “Red,” a flower-shaped structure, repeatedly bloomed and withered while emitting fierce red light. If “One,” a large white flower at the entrance of the gallery, was a commemorative wreath made in honor of those impacted by the pandemic, “Red” encouraged viewers to move forward with resilience by evoking the continuous cycle of life itself.
About the Artist
Since the early 1990s, Choe U-Ram (b. 1970, Seoul, South Korea) has meticulously designed “anima machines” that produce movement and narrative. Focusing on how human desires are projected onto technological advancement and evolution, the artist has tapped into the realms of social context, philosophy, and religion over the past 30 years, expanding the scope of his perspective to question the meaning of human existence and symbiosis.
Following his first solo exhibition in 1998, Choe became the first Korean artist to hold a solo exhibition at the Mori Art Museum in 2006. He has held numerous solo exhibitions around the globe including Korea, the United States, Turkey and Taiwan. Since 1997 he has participated in various group exhibitions at the 2nd Gwangju Biennale, Seoul Museum of Art, Busan Museum of Art, Kumho Museum of Art, Manchester Art Gallery, Leeum Museum of Art, MMCA, and so on. He has received the POSCO Steel Art Award Grand Prize and Today's Young Artist Award for Fine Arts Sector in 2006, the Kim Se-Choong Sculpture Award for Young Artist in 2009 and was a Signature Art Prize Finalist in 2014. He was selected to participate in the Doosan Residency New York in 2009 and Autodesk Artists in Residence Program in 2014.
About the Program
MMCA Hyundai Motor Series
The MMCA Hyundai Motor Series is a pivotal part of the decade-long partnership between MMCA and Hyundai Motor, which aims to expand the field of Korean contemporary art and its role in the broader global dialogue. Each year, MMCA Seoul presents a major solo exhibition featuring new works by a Korean artist or collective. Accompanied by seminars and publications, this platform offers audiences an immersive encounter with the prevailing currents and vibrancy of Korean art today. The series began in 2014 with a groundbreaking exhibition by Lee Bul, followed by Ahn Kyuchul, Kimsooja, IM Heung-soon, CHOIJEONGHWA, Park Chan-kyong, Haegue Yang, MOON Kyungwon & JEON Joonho, and Choe U-Ram, and culminates in 2023-4 with Jung Yeondoo.
Take a Closer Look
Editorial Article
Searching Beyond the Immediately Observable: Choe U-Ram at MMCA
Editorial Video
MMCA Hyundai Motor Series 2022: Choe U-Ram, Studio Visit film
