[K-ART FOCUS] For Dew Kim, K-pop, faith and queer bodies meet onstage

Dew Kim’s installation Legion, Nowhere Whole is on view in Jeonnam-Gwangju Special Metropolitan City as part of The Look is A Li(k)e at the Italian Pavilion in Donggok Museum. The work connects K-pop, religion and queer performance through bodies placed on display, while Kim says social media intensifies self-exposure and attention as capital. Kim also said the piece reflects the vulnerability of performers, idols, martyrs and shamans before an audience.

The exhibition The Look is A Li(k)e runs through Feb. 14, 2027, at Donggok Museum in Jeonnam-Gwangju Special Metropolitan City.

Kim said the title of Legion, Nowhere Whole was inspired by Roman legions and soldiers expected to keep fighting until their bodies were no longer intact.

Kim described social media as a place where anyone can put themselves on an altar and said attention can function as capital.

Kim cited Pungja, a Korean transgender entertainer who first built a large audience on YouTube before moving into mainstream television, as an example of wider visibility for queer communities.

Published Oct 2, 2026 12:00 pm KST

Artist uses fragmented sculptures, K-pop symbols and religious imagery to examine visibility, desire and violence

Dew Kim's "Legion, Nowhere Whole" (2026) at the 16th Gwangju Biennale's Italian Pavilion as part of the exhibition "The Look is a Li(K)e" / Courtesy of Dew Kim

This is the fifth in a series spotlighting Korean artists whose distinct creative worlds are coming into focus in the country’s vibrant autumn art season. —ED.

JEONNAM-GWANGJU SPECIAL METROPOLITAN CITY — A pink microphone, a K-pop light stick and a glowing circular light each crown three white, soft-edged bodies that may be either collapsing into or growing out of the floor, entangled in chains and pierced by spindly metal structures with smartphone screens.

The figure in Dew Kim’s “Legion, Nowhere Whole” (2026) evokes images of wounded idols, saints and soldiers. One form resembles a horse, another suggests a person or an animal caught in a moment of metamorphosis. Together, they form Kim’s response to a world in which people are continually asked to put themselves on display through social media, performance and the pursuit of recognition.

“The title was inspired by Roman legions and soldiers,” Kim said in an interview with The Korea Times. “They were expected to fight until their bodies were no longer intact. I thought that was similar to how we are constantly required to show ourselves, to be recognized and validated, until there is almost no part of the body left whole.”

The work is part of “The Look is A Li(k)e” at the Italian Pavilion at Donggok Museum in Jeonnam-Gwangju Special Metropolitan City. The exhibition considers the “look” as both a digital “like” and a socially constructed “lie,” examining how appearance shapes recognition, belonging and power.

For Kim, who works across sculpture, video and performance, the installation reflects a newer form of self-exposure: the ability — and pressure — to place oneself before an audience.

Dew Kim / Courtesy of the artist

“I use social media a lot — almost to the level of addiction,” Kim said. “On social media, anyone can put themselves on an altar."

In the artist’s view, social media has turned attention into a powerful form of capital. A “like” can help build a career, expand a community or turn an individual into a brand. However, that visibility comes with a cost.

“It’s a platform where desire and capitalism work together very efficiently,” Kim said. “You have to sacrifice yourself, show yourself and, in a way, inflict violence on yourself to keep drawing people’s attention.”

Kim does not view social media as purely negative. Digital platforms have also widened access to public visibility, enabling people historically excluded from mainstream media — including members of queer communities — to build audiences and connect with others on their own terms. Kim cited Pungja, a Korean transgender entertainer who first built a large audience on YouTube before expanding into mainstream television, as an example of that broader access.

However, Kim is equally interested in the instability of public attention. A performer, leader or religious figure placed onstage may appear powerful, he said, but the audience holds a more volatile form of authority: the power to raise, replace or bring down the person it once celebrated.

This tension — between elevation and exposure, devotion and punishment — has become central to Kim’s recent works. His practice brings together K-pop, religion and queer performance as contexts that appear unrelated; however, each of them places bodies before an audience, whether as a part of a ritual or system of desire.

A lifelong K-pop fan, Kim said the music has had “a spiritual presence” since childhood. “I was born male, but from when I was young, I dreamed of becoming a girl group member,” Kim said. “Not the center, but perhaps a supporting vocalist.”

That personal attachment developed alongside a religious upbringing. His father is a pastor and Kim wrote in his 2021 publication “When the Water Blushed” that he “had to compete with God for my father’s attention,” and that the bible stories that filled his childhood — tales of sacrifice, slavery, imprisonment and torture — “seemed more exciting to me than the fairy tales.”

After earning Bachelor's degree in metal craft from Konkuk University and Master's degree in sculpture from the Royal College of Art in London, Kim developed HornyHoneydew, a fictional queer shaman-idol persona as a counterfigure to the Christianity’s rejection of queer people. His studies in the United Kingdom and travels in South America further drew the artist toward shamanism, animism and other spiritual traditions that have survived outside European religious frameworks.

Installation view of Dew Kim's "Kiss of Chaos" (2020) at the Seoul branch of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea for the museum's group exhibition "Looking for Another Family" / Courtesy of Dew Kim

“Religion can be very queer,” Kim said. “It is a point outside of everyday life, outside of normality. Spiritual things, queer things and artistic things all have that in common.”

Over time, Kim came to see that the bodies central to K-pop, religion and queer performance have a common point of overlap: they are placed on a stage, altar or platform, and made to carry out rituals for spectatorship, desire and power. An idol performs before fans; a martyr is elevated for worship; and a shaman mediates collective emotions. In different ways, each stages a body to be seen by others.

“They all shine, but the power they have can always be overturned,” Kim said.

This fall, Kim is expanding that inquiry at the Busan Biennale. His installations include a stage with a precariously balanced microphone resembling a cross, blood-red fabric and tangled bodies hidden under latex. Light sticks, crowd sounds and a bridge-like passage bring visitors through an environment shaped by devotion and collective desire.

Installation view of Dew Kim's "MESSIAH / AFTERIMAGE" (2026) at Busan Nam High School for the 13th Busan Biennale / Courtesy of Dew Kim

“Humanity has always sought to place certain individuals on the stage,” Kim said. “Stepping onto the stage grants one power, yet ultimately, one is left with a body that remains utterly vulnerable.”

“The Look is A Li(k)e” runs through Feb. 14, 2027, at Donggok Museum in Jeonnam-Gwangju Special Metropolitan City.

金德（Dew Kim）的装置作品《军团，无处可寻》（Legion, Nowhere Whole）正在全南光州特别广域市东谷美术馆意大利馆展出，作为“目光如炬”（The Look is A Li(k)e）展览的一部分。该作品通过展出人体，将韩国流行音乐、宗教和酷儿表演联系起来。金德表示，社交媒体加剧了自我曝光和关注度，并将其视为一种资本。他还说，这件作品反映了表演者、偶像、殉道者和萨满在观众面前的脆弱性。

展览“眼神即爱”将于 2027 年 2 月 14 日在全罗南道光州特别广域市东谷美术馆展出。

金表示，《军团，无处可逃》这个标题的灵感来源于罗马军团和士兵，他们被期望战斗到身体完全破碎为止。

金·卡戴珊将社交媒体描述为任何人都可以把自己放在祭坛上的地方，并表示关注度可以作为一种资本。

金以韩国变性艺人 Pungja 为例，说明酷儿群体如何获得更广泛的关注。Pungja 先是在 YouTube 上积累了大量粉丝，之后才进入主流电视节目。

发布于2026年10月2日韩国时间下午12:00

艺术家运用碎片化的雕塑、韩国流行音乐符号和宗教意象，探讨可见性、欲望和暴力。

金德威的作品《军团，无处可寻》（2026）在第16届光州双年展意大利馆展出，作为展览“凝视即是思念”的一部分 / 图片由金德威提供

这是聚焦韩国艺术家的系列报道的第五篇，这些艺术家们独特的创作世界正随着韩国充满活力的秋季艺术季而逐渐为人所知。——编者注

全南光州特别报道——一个粉红色的麦克风、一根 K-pop 应援棒和一个发光的圆形灯分别装饰着三个白色、边缘柔和的物体，这些物体可能正在坍塌到地板上，也可能正在从地板上生长出来，它们被锁链缠绕，并被带有智能手机屏幕的细长金属结构刺穿。

金德（Dew Kim）的作品《军团，无处可归》（2026）中的形象令人联想起受伤的偶像、圣人和士兵。其中一个形象形似马，另一个则暗示着处于蜕变瞬间的人或动物。这些形象共同构成了金德对当今世界的回应——在这个世界里，人们不断被要求通过社交媒体、表演和对认可的追求来展示自己。

金在接受《韩国时报》采访时表示：“这个标题的灵感来源于罗马军团和士兵。他们被要求战斗到筋疲力竭。我认为这与我们不断被要求展现自我、获得认可和肯定，直到身体几乎所有部分都失去完整性的情况很相似。”

这件作品是全南光州特别广域市东谷博物馆意大利馆“目光即点赞”展览的一部分。该展览探讨了“目光”既是数字时代的“点赞”，也是社会建构的“谎言”，并审视了外貌如何塑造认知、归属感和权力。

对于从事雕塑、视频和表演等多种艺术形式的金来说，这个装置反映了一种新的自我暴露形式：将自己置于观众面前的能力和压力。

Dew Kim / 图片由艺术家提供

“我经常使用社交媒体——几乎到了上瘾的程度，”金说。“在社交媒体上，任何人都可以把自己塑造成公众人物。”

在艺术家看来，社交媒体已将注意力转化为一种强大的资本。“点赞”可以帮助一个人建立事业、扩大社群，甚至打造个人品牌。然而，这种曝光度也是有代价的。

“这是一个欲望和资本主义高效运作的平台，”金说。“你必须牺牲自己，展现自己，某种程度上来说，还要伤害自己，才能持续吸引人们的注意力。”

金并不认为社交媒体完全是负面的。数字平台也拓宽了公众视野，使那些历史上被主流媒体排斥的人——包括酷儿群体成员——能够建立自己的受众群体，并以自己的方式与他人建立联系。金以韩国跨性别艺人Pungja为例，她最初在YouTube上积累了大量粉丝，之后又进军主流电视，这便是这种更广泛传播的例证。

然而，金同样关注公众注意力的不稳定性。他指出，舞台上的表演者、领袖或宗教人物或许显得气势逼人，但观众却掌握着一种更为不稳定的权力：他们有能力拥立、取代或打倒他们曾经崇拜的人。

这种张力——在崇高与暴露、奉献与惩罚之间——已成为金近期作品的核心。他的创作实践将韩国流行音乐、宗教和酷儿表演融合在一起，这些看似毫不相关的语境，最终都将身体呈现在观众面前，无论是作为仪式的一部分，还是作为欲望体系的一部分。

金女士从小就是K-pop的忠实粉丝，她说这种音乐自幼就对她有着“精神上的影响”。“我出生时是男性，但从小就梦想成为女子组合的成员，”金女士说，“不是中心位，而是伴唱。”

这种个人情感的形成与他的宗教信仰密切相关。他的父亲是一位牧师，金在2021年出版的《当水流涌动时》一书中写道，他“不得不与上帝争夺父亲的关注”，而且他童年时期耳濡目染的圣经故事——关于牺牲、奴役、监禁和酷刑的故事——“在我看来比童话故事更令人兴奋”。

金在建国大学获得金属工艺学士学位，并在伦敦皇家艺术学院获得雕塑硕士学位后，创作了虚构的酷儿萨满偶像形象“HornyHoneydew”，以此对抗基督教对酷儿群体的排斥。他在英国的学习和南美的旅行经历，进一步引导他走向萨满教、万物有灵论以及其他在欧洲宗教体系之外流传下来的精神传统。

图为金德（Dew Kim）作品《混沌之吻》（Kiss of Chaos，2020）在韩国国立现代美术馆首尔分馆的展览现场，该作品是该馆群展“寻找另一个家庭”（Looking for Another Family）的参展作品。/ 图片由金德提供

“宗教可以非常另类，”金说。“它游离于日常生活之外，游离于常态之外。精神层面的事物、另类事物和艺术事物都有这一点共同之处。”

随着时间的推移，金逐渐意识到，在K-pop、宗教和酷儿表演中，身体的核心存在一个共同的交集：它们都被置于舞台、祭坛或平台上，被迫进行某种仪式，以满足观众、欲望和权力的需求。偶像在粉丝面前表演；殉道者被奉为神明；萨满则调和集体的情感。它们以不同的方式，将身体呈现在世人面前。

“他们都很耀眼，但他们拥有的权力总有被推翻的时候，”金说道。

今年秋季，金在釜山双年展上进一步拓展了这一探索。他的装置作品包括一个舞台，舞台上摇摇欲坠地架着一个形似十字架的麦克风，还有血红色的织物和隐藏在乳胶下的纠缠的人体。荧光棒、人群的喧闹声以及一座桥梁般的通道，引领参观者进入一个由虔诚和集体欲望构成的环境。

图为金德（Dew Kim）作品《弥赛亚/残像》（2026）在釜山南高中举办的第13届釜山双年展装置现场 / 图片由金德提供

金说：“人类总是试图将某些人推上舞台。登上舞台赋予人力量，但最终，人的身体仍然会变得极其脆弱。”

“The Look is A Li(k)e”展览将于2027年2月14日前在全罗南道光州特别广域市东谷美术馆举行。