The fast pace and wide reach of social media is a source of inspiration for artist Lee Ye-seung.

Social networks allow people to exchange information and ideas with people they have never met in person and expose content to a large number of people.

Mirroring this interconnectedness, Lee came up with interactive kinetic media installations that operate on signals they receive from adjoining installations as well as the movements of viewers. They are on view at the Artside Gallery in Tongui-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul.  

“These installations portray the impact of digital media on us,” said Lee at the press preview of the exhibition last Friday.

The screen and light installations in the basement floor of the gallery best represent this impact.

A light column, wrapped in white lace fabric, emits light when viewers move close to it. The shadow of the lace pattern is cast onto the wall, transforming the mundane white cube space into a decorated one. Adjacent to the light column, there is a cylindrical moving installation that casts shadows of objects that are juxtaposed with the lace patterns. The controlling software called Arduino receives input from installations, which then adjust the surrounding displays by magnifying their sound or light. 

“The lace reflects anonymity or individualism that prevails in the digitalized world. It is not meant to hold any negative connotations, but just represents the secrecy dominant in online platforms,” she said.

Having studied Oriental painting and media art, Lee said she has always sought to combine traditional ink-and-wash painting with cutting-edge media art. Here, she projects ink-and-wash paintings of mythical figures that appear in the Chinese myth “Sanhaegyeong,” among the oldest of Asian myths written around the third and fourth century in China onto a hanging wide screen.

“I think that the ancient mythical figures were the origins of today’s cyborg,” said Lee. 

The book “Sanhaegyeong” contains various monstrous and strange figures conjured up by the ancient Chinese, including a creature with a body of a fish, a head of a snake, eyes that look like a horse’s ears and six legs. There are also human-like characters with holes in their chests and mermen.

“The half-fish and half-human image K-pop rap star Psy used for the cover of his sixth album actually originated from ‘Sanhaegyeong,’” said Lee.

Combining old and new is part of Lee’s experimentations with media art.

“My focus has been on discovering old Oriental philosophies and presenting them in the most up-to-date form. Media art has the potential to create interesting stories through collaborations with other fields,” said Lee.

The exhibition runs until March 3. For more information, call (02) 725-1020.

By Lee Woo-young (wylee@heraldcorp.com)