Thursday, 2 May 2024 3:00PM - 4:30PM (AEST) In Person: Schaeffer Library Seminar Room, 210 RC Mills Building, University of Sydney Camperdown. Or join with Zoom: (click here to join).
Part of the Art History Seminar Series, convened by Mary Roberts and presented by the discipline of Art History at the University of Sydney, with support from the Power Institute.
A seminar on contemporary Korean artists currently based in Australasia, with a particular focus on the practices of Lisa Myeong-Joo, Haji Oh, and Yona Lee.
Yona Lee, In transit (double-function form) (2018). Stainless steel, objects. Dimensions variable. Collection of the Art Gallery of New South Wales. Installation view at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney. Photographer: Jenni Carter. Courtesy of the artist and Fine Arts, Sydney.
Current prevailing art historical narratives continue to constrain the interpretation of works by overseas artists of Korean heritage, narrowly fixating on national identity and essentialist categories. Conventional categorisations such as ‘Korean-Australian’ or ‘Korean-New Zealand’ often fail to capture the complexity and fluidity of identity and artistic practices. This research explores the artistic practices of contemporary Korean artists currently based in Australasia, with a particular focus on the practices of Lisa Myeong-Joo, Haji Oh, and Yona Lee. Uncovering the artists’ intricate negotiations of diasporic citizenship and their intellectual explorations of belonging, mobility, and migration necessitates close attention to artists' own visions of themselves as global actors. This research reimagines the concept of belonging in the global art world and calls for a broader and more inclusive perspective that acknowledges the artists’ claims and contributions to world-building and building the world.
Soo-Min Shim
Soo-Min Shim is an arts writer, researcher, and casual academic living and working on stolen Gadigal land. She received her Bachelor of Art History and Theory (First Class Honours) from the University of Sydney and is currently a PhD Candidate in Art History and Theory at the Australian National University.