IM HEUNG-SOON Korean, b. 1969
Born in Seoul in 1969, IM Heung-soon works between Seoul and Jeju as a visual artist and filmmaker. IM’s works recognizes how the lives of impoverished, social minorities and subalterns have been overlooked during South Korea’s rapid economic development since the 1970s. By closely observing the national mythic rhetoric on the sacrifice of workers and war veterans, in concomitance with suppressed and neglected individuals and communities under authoritarian governments, his works questions how the wounds of civilians’ sacrifices in recent history are remembered today.
IM has been producing works in diverse forms, crossing the genres of documentary film, contemporary art, and public art. He engages in individual and collaborative works, the exhibition space, and theater. IM Heung-Soon was the first Korean artist to be awarded the Silver Lion at the 2015 Venice Biennale for his work Factory Complex (2014). It is a documentary covering the history of female labor in Korea over a period of 40 years, from the old Guro Industrial Complex factory workers to the Guro Digital Complex employees of today. It is regarded as a work that has broken the boundary between film and the fine arts.
Reincarnation (2015) shown at the Sharjah Biennale focuses on the indescribable trauma of women, the impossible life of endurance, and the recurrence of intolerable memories that the artist had to witness in Iran and Vietnam. IM keeps interweaving stories of minorities and the dispossessed, which resonate across countries and generations.
Things that Do Us Part (2018) began from the personal experiences of three grandmothers who respectively experienced significant historical events in Korea's modern times: The Korean independence movement, the 4·3 Uprising in Jeju (1948-1949), and the life of partisans in Jiri Mountain. These events took place against the backdrop of the Japanese occupation and the Pacific War; U.S. and Soviets rule after the Second World War, and the division of the Korean peninsula. The film consoles the innocent victims whose souls might be living among us, as the grandmothers believe, and asks: What are the things that make us polarized?
IM Heung-Soon drew international attention by showcasing, at Carnegie International, his film Good Light, Good Air (2018), a work dealing with Korea and Argentina's modern and contemporary history. The story is based on a Korean novel that depicts the pain of contemporary massacres perpetrated by the government in Gwangju, South Korea, and in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
His major solo exhibitions include Reincarnation (MoMA PS1, 2015, New York), Things that Do Us Part (MMCA Hyundai Motor Series, MMCA, 2017, Korea), Ghost Guide (The Page Gallery, 2019, Korea), Title Match: IM Heung-soon vs. Omer Fast 《Cut!》 (Buk-Seoul Museum of Art, 2022, Korea) and Memories Showers Seas (Jeju 4·3 Peace Memorial Hall, 2023, Korea). IM has also been invited to several international exhibitions and film festivals, including the Gwangju Biennale in 2002 and 2010, the Sharjah Biennale and Venice Biennale in 2015, the Taipei Biennale in 2016, and Carnegie International in 2018.
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The Observatory
11 - 27 May 2023전망대 11 May - 27 May 2023 Frieze No’9 Cork Street, London IM Heung-soon Solo Exhibition 《The Observatory》 at Frieze No’9 Cork Street, London The Page Gallery presents ‘The Observatory’,...Read more -
IM Heung-Soon: GHOST GUIDE
5 Dec 2019 - 29 Feb 2020IM Heung-Soon: GHOST GUIDE 05 December 2019 - 29 February 2020 The Page Gallery EAST IM Heung-soon is an artist and film director based in Jeju island and Seoul. In...Read more -
CONTEMPORARY ART STAGE I
11 Apr - 12 Jun 2019CONTEMPORARY ART STAGE I 11 April - 12 June 2019 The Page Gallery EAST CONTEMPORARY ART STAGE 1 is a group exhibition presenting the artists at the forefront of the...Read more
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임흥순 개인전 <기억 샤워 바다>
제주4·3평화기념관 September 16, 2023거친 태풍을 견디고 순풍에 돛달아 잔잔한 물결 위를 미끄러진다. 숨 돌릴 틈 없이 더 큰 태풍이 들이닥쳐도 떨리는 두려움으로 필사적으로 맞선다. 그것이 존엄이고 희망이다. 임흥순은...Read more -
4·3의 역사와 현재, 미래의 연결 ‘메모리얼’
제주메일 May 18, 20234·3사건과 10년 전 강정해군기지(민군복합형 관광미항) 문제를 담은 2012년도 영화 ‘비념’이 다시 상영된다. 영화 ‘비념’의 촬영지이자 주인공인 고(故) 강상희 할머니의 집 마당인 제주시 애월읍 납읍로 6길...Read more -
4‧3 영화 '비념' 할망 집서 소통하는 임흥순 감독
뉴제주일보 May 18, 2023베니스비엔날레에서 한국인 최초로 은사자상을 받은 임흥순 영화 감독. 그는 줄곧 4‧3을 비롯한 우리나라 근현대사의 상흔을 집중 조명해왔다. 이러한 그가 오는 27일 오후 7시30분 4‧3 작품...Read more -
May at No.9 Cork Street
FRIEZE April 27, 2023The May programme at Frieze's Mayfair gallery space presents exhibitions from The Page Gallery (Seoul) Jhaveri Contemporary (Mumbai) and Galleri Opdahl (Stavanger) running from May...Read more -
2022 타이틀 매치: 임흥순 vs. 오메르 파스트 《컷!》
SEOUL CULTURE PORTAL November 17, 2022 Read more -
Director Im Heungsoon Mirrors Gwangju and Buenos Aires
한국 영화 June 13, 2021The movie Good Light, Good Air is a mirror reflecting Gwangju and Buenos Aires, the two cities victimized by national violence. It faces problems that...Read more -
IM Heung-Soon: GHOST GUIDE
artforum May 2, 2020IM Heung-soon has been using film and video to give voice to the voiceless since the late 1990s; he won the Venice Biennale Silver Lion...Read more -
Remembering ghosts of modern history
The Korea Times December 23, 2019Artist Im Heung-soon pays attention to those who are marginalized. He is best known for winning the Silver Lion at the 2015 Venice Biennale for...Read more -
Female defectors reflect on their journey: ‘Ryeohaeng’ shares the struggles many endure to leave North Korea
Korea JoongAng Daily August 6, 2019“Ryeohaeng,” the North Korean word for “travel” and also the title of director Im Heung-soon’s film, tells the stories of 10 female North Korean defectors...Read more -
Im Heung Soon on 'Brilliant Ideas' | Episode 71
Bloomberg January 23, 2018Striking, complex, and deeply moving, the poignant video works of Korean-born artist Im Heung Soon deal with serious local and international issues like war, poverty...Read more -
IM Heung-soon: Things that Do Us Part
Hyundai Artlab November 30, 2017IM Heung-soon’s 2017 MMCA Hyundai Motor Series exhibition Things that Do Us Part considered the ways in which division is a subconscious and ubiquitous ideology...Read more -
MMCA Hyundai Motor Series2017: IM Heung-soon - Things that Do Us Part
국립현대미술관 November 13, 2017MMCA Hyundai Motor Series is an annual exhibition project that the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art conducts in partnership with the Hyundai Motor...Read more -
IM Heung-soon Explores the Horrors Women Endure in War
New York Times July 30, 2015 Read more -
[INTERVIEW] Film Director, IM Heung-soon
Korean Cinema May 27, 2015On May 10th, film director IM Heung-soon received the Silver Lion at the 56th International Venice Art Biennale for his documentary Factory Complex, which is...Read more -
Documentary of Female Workers, Factory Complex Wins the Silver Lion at the Venice Biennal
The Kyunghyang Shinmun May 11, 2015Factory Complex is a 95-minute documentary shot in South Korea, Cambodia, and Vietnam and deals with labor issues concerning Asian women. Through an innovative style...Read more -
Ode to working women
The Korea Times May 10, 2015Korean artist Im Heung-soon won the Silver Lion at the 56th Venice Biennale 2015 for his documentary film 'Factory Complex,' Saturday. This is the highest...Read more -
IM Heung-soon: Reincarnation
Museum of Modern Art May 3, 2015IM Heung-soon’s work explores the ongoing process of modernization and globalization in Korea as seen through the eyes of older generations whose lives have spanned...Read more