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| Jiri-san | |
|---|---|
| Name | Jiri-san |
| Birth date | 1970s |
| Birth place | Seoul, South Korea |
| Nationality | South Korean |
| Occupation | Visual artist |
| Known for | Mixed-media installations, performance art, video art |
Jiri-san
Jiri-san is a contemporary South Korean visual artist known for mixed-media installations, video performance, and participatory projects that interrogate urban space, memory, and identity. Their practice intersects with film, architecture, and sound art, engaging institutions and public sites across Asia, Europe, and North America. Collaborations with curators, choreographers, and collectives have positioned them within international biennials, museum exhibitions, and experimental festivals.
Born in Seoul in the 1970s, Jiri-san emerged during a period of rapid urban transformation coinciding with the 1988 Seoul Olympics and later global art networks. Early studies included interactions with faculty and programs linked to Hongik University, Korea National University of Arts, and visiting artists from Japan, Germany, and United States. Their work has been shown alongside artists associated with Documenta, the Venice Biennale, and the Shanghai Biennale, reflecting dialogues with contemporaries who address post-industrial space, migration, and visual culture.
Jiri-san studied visual arts and media in Seoul, followed by residencies in Berlin, New York City, and Tokyo. Influences and professional relationships formed through institutions such as the Korean Cultural Centre, Asia Society, and artist residencies at Haus der Kulturen der Welt and Gasworks. Early collaborations involved performers and composers connected to Seoul International Dance Film Festival and the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival. Throughout the 2000s and 2010s, Jiri-san engaged with municipal arts programs in Busan and Daegu, academic seminars at Yonsei University and Sogang University, and cross-disciplinary projects with design studios linked to MVRDV and OMA.
Jiri-san’s aesthetic incorporates found objects, archival footage, sculptural construction, and live action, resonating with practices by artists associated with Nam June Paik, Lee Bul, and Cai Guo-Qiang. The work deploys montage strategies reminiscent of Dziga Vertov, Chris Marker, and Matthew Barney, while referencing architectural theorists and practitioners such as Rem Koolhaas, Aldo Rossi, and Kazuyo Sejima. Sound components evoke composers like John Cage and Ryuichi Sakamoto, and choreography collaborations recall figures from Pina Bausch’s lineage and choreographers linked to Tanzbiennale. Conceptual frameworks draw on critical theorists taught in programs shaped by scholars from Harvard University, Goldsmiths, and University of California, Berkeley.
Notable projects include a multi-channel video installation staged in a decommissioned market that dialogued with histories of trade and migration, a durational performance in collaboration with dancers at a former factory repurposed by a collective associated with Fab Lab, and a traveling exhibition that mapped urban narratives across sites curated by institutions like MoMA PS1, Tate Modern, and the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea. Commissioned public works have been produced for municipal festivals in Gwangju, city programs during the Busan International Film Festival, and urban interventions connected to the Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism. Experimental short films screened at festivals such as Sundance Film Festival, Berlin International Film Festival, and Rotterdam International Film Festival.
Critics and curators have positioned Jiri-san within discourses of postmodern urbanism and transnational praxis, comparing their interventions to projects by collectives like Studio Olafur Eliasson and socially engaged practices exemplified by Theaster Gates and Ai Weiwei. Reviews have appeared in periodicals with ties to Artforum, Frieze, and ArtAsiaPacific, contextualizing the work alongside debates emerging from forums such as the Sharjah Biennial and panels at the Serpentine Galleries. Academic citations in journals connected to Columbia University and Goldsmiths, University of London link Jiri-san’s projects to studies of spatial justice and cultural memory.
Solo and group exhibitions have taken place in venues including contemporary art centers like Haus der Kunst, Centre Pompidou, and the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, as well as university galleries affiliated with Princeton University and Tokyo University of the Arts. Collections holding their work range from municipal art holdings in Seoul Metropolitan Museum of Art to private and institutional collections overseen by trusts linked to Guggenheim Museum donors and corporate collections associated with Samsung and Hyundai. Participations in curated projects at the Kunsthalle Basel and site-specific commissions for Hamburger Bahnhof have broadened international visibility.
Jiri-san has received fellowships and grants from entities such as the Korean Arts Council, the Asian Cultural Council, and cultural exchange awards sponsored by the British Council and Goethe-Institut. Honours include nomination or shortlisting for prizes administered by foundations connected to the Prince Claus Fund, residency awards from Cité internationale des arts, and project support from foundations tied to Ford Foundation initiatives in arts and culture.
Category:South Korean artists