Kim Heecheon's Digital Narratives Explore Collapsed Futures in Seoul and New York Exhibitions

Kim Heecheon's video works employ digital technologies like VR and Face Swap to examine contemporary living conditions shaped by technological change. His 2017 piece Mumbling in Hell, Tumbling down the Well utilizes virtual reality, while Sleigh Ride Chill from 2016 incorporates face-swapping techniques. Trained as an architect before becoming an artist, Kim creates technology-centric works with strong urban-planning aesthetics that reveal complex narratives upon closer inspection. He frequently incorporates various literary forms, juxtaposing texts from private letters, live broadcasts, and interviews. Through world-building that features an alternative Seoul in his 2015 trilogy—Lifting Barbells, Soulseek/Pegging/Air-twerking, and Wall Rally Drill—Kim explores interactions between physical reality, digital data, and human psychology. His approach shares similarities with artists Harun Farocki and Hito Steyerl in presenting futures collapsed into presents where inhabitants struggle with new realities. Based in Seoul, Kim exhibited at Doosan Gallery in New York during spring and early summer 2018, following previous shows at Doosan Gallery Seoul in 2017. His work has appeared in the 2017 Istanbul Biennial and at Kunsthal Aarhus in 2016. The artist is recognized among Korea's Postinternet generation for distinctive work that examines perception, truth, and emotion in digitally transformed contexts.