Installation view of Active Threads, KAI 10 | ARTHENA FOUNDATION, Düsseldorf, Germany. Photo: Achim Kukulies

Artists: Kyungah Ham (함경아)
Exhibition Dates and Venues: 
April 30 – Sep 5, 2021 [Kunstmuseum Bern, Switzerland]
May 8 – Sep 5, 2021 [KAI 10 | ARTHENA FOUNDATION, Düsseldorf, Germany]     
Website: www.kunstmuseumbern.ch/en/see/today/1003-border-crossings-n-120.html
www.kaistrasse10.de/en/exhibitions/active-threads.html

The contemporary artist Kyungah Ham is participating in a group exhibition titled Border Crossings – North and South Korean Art from the Sigg Collection at the Kunstmuseum Bern, Switzerland, through September 5, 2021. Featuring works from the collection of the prominent Swiss collector Uli Sigg, who served as the Swiss ambassador to China and North Korea in the 1990s, the exhibition presents 75 works including those by Kyungah Ham, Sea Hyun Lee, Feng Mengbo, and Guang Tingbo. Weaving together works from either sides of the Korean peninsula, the exhibition examines the irreconcilability of the two political systems that have diverged from one another since the division. Among the works presented are Kyungah Ham’s What you see is the unseen / Chandeliers for Five Cities 01 (2012-13) and Sweet-Sweet & Bling-Bling (2009-10)—two embroidery paintings created in collaboration with North Korean hand embroiderers.

Concurrently, Kyungah Ham is also taking part in Active Threads, a group exhibition at KAI 10 | ARTHENA FOUNDATION, Düsseldorf, Germany, through September 5, 2021. Exploring how textiles still function as effective means of communication even now in our digital era, the exhibition introduces the works of eight artists who examine the social and political relevance of textiles across different cultures. On view at the exhibition are Kyungah Ham’s Big and pretty eye drops vitamin A, detail From SMS Series 04 (2017-2018) from her SMS series, and What you see is the unseen / Chandeliers for Five Cities BK 03-05 (2016-17) from her Chandelier series, both of which showcase the artist’s unique working process; Ham sends images of embroidery designs with hidden messages to artisans in North Korea, who then embroider the piece stitch by stitch in accordance with her instructions. Through these paintings, Ham offers insight into her unique artistic vocabulary which integrates the working process as a part of the finished work.

함경아, 베른 시립미술관 그룹전 《Border Crossings-North and South Korean Art from the Sigg Collection》과 뒤셀도르프 아르테나 재단 그룹전 《Active Threads》 참가

현대미술가 함경아가 스위스 베른 시립미술관에서 열리는 그룹전 《국경을 넘어: 울리 지그 남북한 작품 소장전(Border Crossings-North and South Korean Art from the Sigg Collection)》(2021년 9월 5일까지)에 참여한다. 스위스의 유명 컬렉터이자 90년대 중국, 북한 주재 스위스 대사를 역임한 울리 지그의 소장품으로 구성되는 이번 전시는 함경아, 이세현, 펑멍보(Feng Mengbo), 광팅보(Guang Tingbo) 등의 작품 75점을 소개한다. 남북의 작품들을 통해 분단 이후 계속해서 한반도를 지배해온 두 체제의 비화합성을 고찰하는 이번 소장전에서는 북한 자수 노동자들과의 협업으로 제작한 함경아의 작품 <What you see is the unseen / Chandeliers for Five Cities 01>(2012-13), <Sweet-Sweet & Bling-Bling>(2009-10)을 만날 수 있다.

한편 함경아는 연이어 뒤셀도르프 아르테나 재단에서 열리는 그룹전 《Active Threads》(2021년 9월 5일까지)에서 작품을 선보인다. 오늘날에도 유효한 커뮤니케이션 수단으로 기능하는 직물의 의미를 고찰하는 전시로, 다양한 문화권에서 직물에 내재된 정치, 사회적 의미를 탐구해온 작가 8인의 작품을 소개한다. 메시지가 숨겨진 도안을 북한으로 보내, 북한 자수 공예가들이 한 땀 한 땀 새긴 결과물을 돌려받는 방식의 작업을 전개해온 함경아는 <SMS 디테일> 연작인 <Big and pretty eye drops vitamin A, detail From SMS Series 04>(2017-2018)와 샹들리에 연작 <What you see is the unseen / Chandeliers for Five Cities BK 03-05>(2016-17)를 통해 작품에 담긴 일련의 과정 자체가 작품이 되는 독창적인 예술 세계를 펼쳐 보인다.

[Source from Kunstmuseum Bern, KAI 10 | ARTHENA FOUNDATION website]