Yangachi South Korea, b. 1970
Overview
Yangachi (b. 1970) is one of Korea’s representative media artists, who has shared new possibilities for media since his web-based work of the early 2000s, adopting a critical perspective toward the social and political influences that lie beneath them. “Yangachi” is a pseudonym used by the artist (whose real name is Cho Sung Jin), the online ID used in the early stages of his work having become his moniker. Yangachi has experimented with and expanded the realm of media not only through holding exhibitions, but also through collaboration with experts in various fields including music, dance, architecture, and literature. The artist has explored the nature of media and its various dimensions, starting with web-based work such as Yangachi Guild (2002), which compares Korea’s social and political landscape to online home shopping, and eGovernment (2003), which criticizes government surveillance, and continuing on to Middle Corea: Yangachi Episode I - III (2008-2009), which experiments with the power of storytelling by the media; Bright Dove Hyunsook (2010), where he explores the interfaces between virtual and real space by capturing urbanperformances via CCTV; and When Two Galaxies Merge (2017), an attempt at bringing together two different worlds.
Yangachi, who lives and works in Seoul, South Korea, studied Sculpture at Suwon University College of Art & Design and received his M.F.A. in Media Arts from Yonsei University Graduate School of Communication and Arts. Major exhibitions by the artist include those at National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul, Korea (2016, 2013, 2012, 2004); the Seoul Media City Biennale, Korea (2010, 2018); the Busan Biennale, Korea (2016); the Gangwon Biennale, Korea (2018); the Seoul Museum of Art, Korea (2015, 2016); Gyeonggi Museum of Modern Art, Korea (2018, 2011, 2010); the Arko Museum of Art, Korea (2017, 2020); and the Nam June Park Art Center, Korea (2008, 2015, 2016); as well as many international exhibitions at art institutions and art events in France, Hong Kong, Japan, Germany, the United States, and Chile. The artist was also the recipient of the Hermes Missulssang Award in 2010. Yangachi’s works are currently housed in a number of prominent institutions including the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea, the Seoul Museum of Art, the Gyeonggi Museum of Art, and the Amore Pacific Museum of Art.
Exhibitions
Works
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YangachiSartre, Crosseyed, 10 eyes, Thing, 2020brass casting, magnets, minerals12 x 15 x 17 cm
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YangachiSartre, Connected, Body, Thing, 2020brass casting, magnets, minerals26 x 64 x 36 cm, 14 x 21 x 10 cm
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YangachiBlessed Virgin Mary, 1,000 eyes, Thing, 2020painted polycoat, minerals24 x 51 x 17 cm
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YangachiGalaxy Express, 2020one-channel video, 10:56dimensions variable
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YangachiSartre, 10 eyes, 10 mouths, Thing, 2020brass casting, magnets, minerals48 x 37 x 38 cm
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YangachiRachael, Thing, 2020brass casting, magnets, minerals47.5 x 19 x 20 cm
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YangachiOur Lady of Fatima, 1,000 eyes, Thing, 2020painted wood, minerals115 x 33 x 35 cm
Press
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KOR I Questions from media artist Yangachi to Technological Society
Noblesse, Jung Song, January 1, 2021 -
KOR I 'Hyper-Connected Society', The Meaning and the role of Human Existence…Yangachi's Solo Show
The Kyunghyang Shinmun, Jaekee Do, November 30, 2020 -
Yangachi’s odd but beautiful works peek into hyperconnected world
The Korea Herald, Yuna Park, November 23, 2020 -
KOR | Utopia, Data of Art
Art in Culture , Hyun Dae Cho, November 2, 2020 -
KOR | The role as human beings in the future…Galaxy Express, a solo exhibition by the artist Yangachi
Yonhap News, Jong Hoon Kang , October 15, 2020 -
KOR | Yangachi ‘Galaxy Express’…’New Eyes’ with LiDAR Camera
Newsis, Hyun-Joo Park , October 15, 2020
Video
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Yangachi—Galaxy Express
Interview November 29, 2020 -
Yangachi—Galaxy Express (Youtube Live)
Artist Talk November 14, 2020Barakat Contemporary will host an artist panel with Yangachi on Saturday, November 14 in relation to his solo exhibition 'Galaxy Express’ (10.15 - 12.13). The panel will be broadcast live in Korean on the Barakat Contemporary You Tube channel , with English subtitles to be added after the event.Read more