Artist Feature: Choi Xooang
How society becomes a sickness in our bodies.
I felt particularly unsettled and somewhat disturbed after piecing together this feature. While a true feeling of discomfort pervaded my insides as if I were guilty for witnessing something so twisted, I also experienced a deep sense of empathy with each individual and a profound fascination by the delicate detail to each being, down to each imperfection, each vein. After some translating and research I was able to gather some answers on what this movement of work was geared to represent to Korean sculptor, Choi Xooang.
Xooang’s hyperrealist sculptures aren’t as simple as fictional human-like creatures, they are charged with existential questions regarding the human condition and its relationship to society. Many of his pieces combine objects with the human form reflecting our sickness in society addressing issues such as gender, politics, self awareness, oppression, isolation, and the inner conflicts that ordinary people experience. “My sculptures consist of individuals displaying their own idiosyncratic traits. There are many signs of risks in our society, and I cannot help but feel that something’s strange or wrong. I’m much concerned about the condition of each individual.“ He also explains that the “physical distortions or exaggerations are rendered with the most delicate, realistic way, expressing psychological anxiety and fragility. I hope the reality of this emotional status can be manifested in these imperfect or deformed bodies…In naked bodies, I tried to express the anxiety of the human being…these figures stand as individuals.”
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Choi Xooang was born in 1975 in Seoul, South Korea where he lives and works. He attended The Seoul National University, College of Art, Sculpture Department, where he received his BFA in 2002 and his MA in 2005. He held his first solo exhibition in 2002 and continues to exhibit his sculpture throughout the world. He is represented by Galerie Albert Benamou in Paris, France. To view his curriculum vitae, please visit the gallery website here.