Seungwoo Kang at YK Presents, Seoul

“Koyaanisqatsi” is a word from the Hopi language that means “life out of balance.” It describes a state where the natural harmony and order of life have been disrupted, often due to human interference or the impact of technology.

Kang Seungwoo’s solo exhibition <Koyaanisqatsi> encompasses a new series of works exploring how data-driven surveillance now invades even the unconscious mind, turning private emotions and behaviors into data points. Reflecting on the physical structures of ant colonies and the metaphysical structures of the image search grid, the artist forms relationships between the physiological structures underpinning the subconscious as vast data networks and omniscient and opaque algorithms that create frighteningly accurate narratives of users through online click behavior and unethical modes of surveillance through smart technology.

The works force viewers to confront the voyeurism inherent in utilizing these technologies and their passive role in creating datasets that form digital copies of their psyches. They make references to CCTV recordings and offer an interior view into the artist’s subconscious.

By using the internet through our devices, we exist in a panopticon, constantly surveilled. The generated data limits our online behavior to what is “expected” of us based on our datasets rather than allowing for the full range of human choice online.

Using his own interiority to generate his “dataset” through his paintings, Kang Seungwoo brings the viewer into the role of the algorithm by putting his click behavior on display through Pinterest scrolling and Google image results, giving viewers an unprecedented view into the artist’s mind.