Most of Jungwuk Kim’s holograms are seen in galleries for a few weeks at a time. A smaller group was made to stay: holograms for an astronomy park in Jeju, a railway station and a stone culture centre in Iksan, and a prison history hall in Seoul.
Jeju Byeolbitnuri Park, 2020
In 2020 Kim made a set of holograms for Jeju Byeolbitnuri Park (Jeju Starlight Park). The subjects follow the sky: the moon, the Cheomseongdae observatory in Gyeongju, a space shuttle and a space station. Each one was first built as a model and then recorded on the optical table in his studio in Heyri, Paju. The works were made for permanent display, and the park’s exhibition hall holds them in its collection.
Iksan Station, 2023
In June 2023 four works were installed in the hologram hall at Iksan Station for permanent display. They are green still lifes from the LAYER period, with drips of paint running over the frames, each lit by a small spotlight.
STONE & STORY, Iksan, 2024
In 2024 Kim made holograms of Iksan’s stone heritage for the STONE & STORY Hologram Showroom at the Stone Culture Experience Centre in Hwangdeung-myeon, Iksan: a seated stone Buddha, the five-storey stone pagoda at Wanggung-ri and the stone flagpole supports at the Mireuksa temple site. As in Jeju, each monument was first made as a model in the studio and then recorded on film.
The wall text in the showroom puts it simply: inside a thin, 3 mm optical hologram film, Korea’s National Treasures and Treasures made of Iksan stone “come back to life in a new form” (translated from Korean).
Seodaemun Prison History Hall, 2024
For Seodaemun Prison History Hall in Seoul, Kim recorded two objects in holograms: a woven straw prisoner’s hood (yongsu) and a pair of handcuffs. The hood was recorded in colour, so the straw keeps its warm tone and every twist of the weave.
Light instead of a screen
In each of these places the hologram works as it does in a gallery. There is no screen and no glasses, only film and a lamp. As the viewer moves, the moon, the pagoda or the hood shows its depth and its sides. The full list of public works is on the Exhibitions page, and the commissions are also shown on the Works page.
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