Rafael Lozano-Hemmer
‘Decision Forest’ at Amorepacific Museum of Art (APMA), Seoul
Unveiling its brand-new exhibition space inside the new corporate headquarters of Amorepacific Corporation in Yongsan, Amorepacific Museum of Art (APMA) proudly presents its opening exhibition, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer: Decision Forest. Since the early 1990s, the Mexican-Canadian media artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer has been dazzling people around the world with his enormous interactive installations in public spaces.
This will be Lozano-Hemmer’s first solo exhibition in Korea and his first retrospective exhibition in Asia, encompassing early works such as Surface Tension (1992) to his latest creations, which will be presented for the first time. This event has special significance for Korean audiences, who have rarely had the chance to experience an exhibition of interactive media on such a large scale. A total of 29 of Lozano-Hemmer’s works (representing 24 of his major projects) have been newly programmed to inhabit various exhibition spaces in the building (designed by David Chipperfield), including the Atrium, the museum lobby, and six galleries in the basement level.
From kinetic sculptures to biometric installations, from interactive well to digital sound environments, all of the exhibited works employ cutting-edge technological advancements in virtual reality, nanotechnology, and other areas to provide an array of unforgettable experiences. In addition to themes from literature and philosophy, Lozano-Hemmer’s art often addresses the ubiquity of news, media, and surveillance, sometimes by incorporating one-way mirrors or CCTV. Using people’s bodies and movements as a direct interface, his works may respond to faces, voices, heartbeats, or the distance between people.
Decision Forest is a term from computing and data science. In this exhibition, it refers to the numeric values generated by visitors’ choices and interactions, but also alludes to other concepts, such as the uncontrollable nature of the public, our partial processes of perception, and the creativity that may emerge from uncertain or undefined space. Notably, all of the exhibited works exist as variable situations or conditions that depend entirely upon the visitors’ decision to participate and level of participation. Indeed, the true genius of Rafael Lozano-Hemmer’s art is to provide a platform for interaction, through which each person becomes the protagonist capable of creating her or his own unique experience.
With such an unprecedented collection of innovative and interactive artworks, Decision Forest is sure to provide visitors with a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Through this inaugural exhibition, Amorepacific Museum of Art confirms its intention to be a museum for the public, presenting artworks and experiences that embody the warm spirit of communication, cooperation, and affection.
Curated by Kyoungran Kim
