Violent Boy (Oh Brother), 2018 [Link]
Single channel video.
5’00”
The Oh Brother Series consists of artworks that center around a virtual space inspired by the traditional Korean landscape painting titled “Sun and Moon and Five Peaks.” This painting, historically positioned behind the king to represent his sovereign authority, serves as the foundation for a virtual world that the artworks bring to life. However, inside this virtual space, the characters that inhabit it are not autonomous beings with sovereignty, but rather partial subjects or objects devoid of agency.
Through the juxtaposition of traditional Korean artistic motif and contemporary digital media, the Oh Brother Series invites viewers to ponder the nature of agency, authority, and existence in a virtual realm.
The Violent Boy can only express himself through violence, perpetually fighting figures surrounding him into a bloody pulp. However, his opponents are just replicas of himself. Devoid of sovereignty yet captivating in its ethereal presence, this scenario prompts reflection on the complex interplay between reality and virtuality, agency and constraint, and the multifaceted nature of identity within constructed spaces.
The Oh Brother Series provokes contemplation on the dynamic relationship between power and authority, history and technology, and the intricacies of our existence in the digital and non-digital world.
