PRESS RELEASE - NOVEMBER 2006

Through the Looking Glass: Korean Contemporary Art

Curated by Jiyoon Lee

23 November 2006 - 4 March 2007
(closed 23 December 2006 - 2 January 2007)

Press View: 22 November, 10am - 12pm
Opening Reception: 22 November, 6.30pm - 8.30pm
(With the South Korean Ambassador Dr. Yoon - Je Cho)

Asia House, now located in New Cavendish Street, is delighted to be hosting an exciting collection of contemporary Korean artists; the first exhibition of its kind ever to be staged in the UK . In just the same way that looking at one's reflection in a mirror can be exhilarating, enlightening and is always back-to-front, 'Through the Looking Glass' challenges our preconceived image of Korea through an eclectic mix of ten internationally claimed Korean artists.

The exhibition is a part of 'Think Korea 2006' , a one-year programme of Korean cultural events that have been taking place in the UK . Recently, Korea has become synonymous with cool, as enthusiasm for the Korean popular culture especially in the fields of cinema, music, and television dramas has swept across much of Asia in what has become known as the ˇ®Korean Wave' . The dynamic, ultramodern contemporary Korea harmoniously co-exists with the wealth of heritage and tradition, which remains highly valued and appreciated.

Stefan Kosciuszko, Asia House's Chief Executive says, 'Koreans today are well educated, techno-savvy high achievers who are fashion conscious trend-setters. The exhibition mirrors contemporary Korean society, which has dramatically changed since the Seoul Olympic Games in 1988.'

With a generous support from LG Electronics, one of the leading Korean global companies in the world, five artists have produced site-specific works which would weave through the Asia House building.

Duck-Hyun Cho 's newly commissioned fifteen paintings 'The Sir Peter Wakefield Collection' creates a meeting point for the people from past and present. The paintings are based on the personal photography collection of the Sir Peter Wakefield a Life President of Asia House. The London based artist Meekyung Shin 's nine soap sculpture vases of Chinese imperial porcelains certainly trick the viewers at first glance. Shin translates these historically canonized art works into contemporary notions of aesthetic, history and time with soap blocks. Jeong-Hwa Choi creates a new 'landscape' for Asia House by hanging a grand chandelier made of plastic baskets at the ceiling of Asia House and displaying a blossoming big black lotus made with waterproof-synthetic cloths at the courtyard of Asia House. Sora Kim 's new poem ' Runaway, or two names ' derives from the titles of books displayed at Asia House library. As MP3 player shuffles various tunes, Kim shuffled these book titles and wrote a poem. Then, the poem is fully presented to the readers when they listen to MP3 player's diverse tunes played by the musicians who read Kim's poem. Kyuchul Ahn 's house consists of abandoned doors from a demolished residential area in Korea questions a breathless modernization process in Korea during 1960s and 1970s. A continuous cycle of 'build-demolition-rebuild' did not provide any opportunity for people such as Ahn, who grew up during this period, to trace any memories about their houses. In this exhibition, Ahn invites the audience to visit his house to contemplate on their personal memories about their houses.

The other five artists' works will be exhibited throughout the Asia House building including the works such as Yeondoo Jung 's ' Wonderland' a series of ditych comprised of children's drawing and the artist's photograph of fairly tales and children's dreams; Jiwon Kim 's ' Mendrami ' a large painting showing Mendrami flowers in Korea's Demiliterized Zone (DMZ); Beom Kim 's 'Untitled' News ' hundreds of fastforwarded scenes of the evening news in South Korea; Yong-baek Lee 's 'in-between ' a video work showing a gradual changing of Buddha's face turning into Christ's face contemplating 'in-between' moments in life and Youngjin Kim 's 'Fluid' displaying water droplets projected in a large screen forming various shapes in different moments echoing the Korean traditional ink painting practice that requires a firm discipline of controlling water and ink.

Cafe t at Asia House will offer a unique Korean cafe experience provided by Jeong-Hwa Choi's Soban tables (which mean 'round tables' in Korean) uniquely decorated with mother of pearl or the motives from Korean genre paintings and bespoke sofas. Soban tables are also available for sale at GBP 110.

Extensive education programme such as a panel discussion about the current practice of Korean contemporary art moderated by Beth McKillop the Keeper of the Asian Department at V&A, guest panelists Hans Ulrich Obrist Co-curator of Serpentine Gallery, Alessio Antoniolli Director of Triangle Arts Trust and Gasworks and Jiyoon Lee the curator of 'Through the Looking Glass ' and the participating artists of the exhibition and a lecture by Jim Hoare a former British diplomat to North Korea and Jiyoon Lee on the South Korean artists' response to the issue of divided Korea have already generated a great interest among the UK audience.

Notes to Editors:

Asia house established in 1996 is one of the premier pan Asian organizations in Britain , promoting a greater understanding of the rich and varied Asian cultures and economies. The new premise in Cavendish was opened by Mr Lee Kwan Yu a former Prime Minister of Singapore earlier this year. Asia House hosts approximately 125 events annually covering Asian business, politics and the visual and performing arts. The Asia House gallery brings together both emerging and established Asian artists and curators in a programme of four major exhibitions every year.

Jiyoon Lee is an independent curator, critic and lecturer based in London . Her focus is on the diverse cultural engagement between Asia and Europe . Projects include 'London Underground' at Sungkok Art Museum (Seoul 2001) and the Taipei Fine Art Museum (2002); 'east of eden' at Victoria Miro Project Space (London 2003); 'Seoul: Until Now!' at Charlottenborg Exhibition Hall (Copenhagen 2005). Recent exhibitions included a site-specific new media project, 'Exposed' ( London , 2006) and 'Tale of Two Cities', co-curated for the Busan Biennale (Busan, 2006).

LG Electronics has been actively involved with international contemporary art and design. As part of their ongoing enthusiasm and support for the visual arts LG Electronics is proud to support 'Through the Looking Glass', introducing innovative and thought-provoking Korean contemporary art to an international audience.