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.
Read MoreYangachi, 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.
Text courtesy Barakat Contemporary.
