Agar and Moss, Digital Spirits:
Imagining Sexual Energy Beyond the Obligation of Childbirth
Exhibition view of "Agamon Encyclopedia: External Leak" currently on display at the exhibition space "Artbox" within the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul on the 31st. Photo by Seo Mideum
The above exhibition by the artist Chusu (TZUSOO·33) was organized as part of the 'MMCA x LG OLED Series 2025,' which is being presented for the first time this year at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA) Seoul. Chusu has become the first artist to be featured in this long-term project jointly run by MMCA and LG Electronics, which selects one artist each year to support their exhibition. This exhibition features two massive screens made with 44 LG OLED TVs, displayed side by side with physical artworks.
On the 31st, artist Choo Soo explained his work "Agamon Incubator 5" at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art's Artbox. Photo by Seo Mideum
This exhibition consists of large-scale installations that address essential themes such as life, desire, and endless cycles. 'Agamon Incubator 5,' installed in the MMCA exhibition space 'Art Box,' is a work that depicts the process of caring for Agamon life forms using agar, a seaweed-derived substance, and moss, all within a circular steel structure with a diameter of 4.5 meters. Water flowing over steel plates and droplets falling from 3-meter-high pipes evoke the image of amniotic fluid and umbilical cords inside the womb. The artist explained, "This work imagines life in ways other than childbirth. In a world where the obligation to give birth has disappeared, oversaturated sexual energy has crossed over into reality."
The name 'Agamon' is derived from the symbolic meaning of 'baby' and the German pronunciation of agar, 'argar.' The artist, who loves babies and eagerly anticipates childbirth, is currently postponing pregnancy and childbirth. She explained, "After working digitally for a long time, my body was severely damaged. I couldn't even sit properly," and added, "After turning thirty, I began to long for work that involved using my hands." Agamon is the result of that longing. The artist further commented, "Becoming a mother involves tremendous sacrifice, but it has become invisible. Everyone is born through such a process, but I disliked that it is treated as a taboo. Personally, I also hoped there would be erotic and sexy images in the exhibition space."
Massive screen work: "Sexual desire and fetish within the Bagua"
'The Eight Spirits of Killing' by artist Choo Soo, created as a media screen composed of 44 TVs measuring 4.7 x 7.7m. Photo by Seo Mideum
Surrounding the incubation work are two massive screens facing each other, titled 'Eight Spirits of Flesh.' These are digital versions of Agamon, visualized with agar, and they express Agamon's sexuality by reflecting the Eastern symbolic system of the Bagua (Eight Trigrams). The artist stated, "They embody my personal sexual desires and fetishes."
Within the massive screens, composed of 88 55-inch LG OLED displays, the spirits of 'Dui' and 'Gen' swim and roam. The artist said, "I drew them by hand and added flesh using 3D software. I created them stitch by stitch, as if painting on a canvas." 'Dui,' depicted with piercings and wounds, symbolizes fragility that can easily break, while 'Gen,' with three heads, represents 'queerness,' 'femininity,' and 'normality.' All but normality are depicted as incomplete forms.
This work visualizes a part of the artist's worldview, which will be further expanded in future works. "My worldview is very large. For now, only two spirits appear, but in the future, six more spirits will emerge through various media." The exhibition title, "Agamon Encyclopedia: External Edition," implies the possibility of ongoing change in an unfinished state. The exhibition runs until February 1 next year.
MMCA x LG OLED: One artist selected and featured each year
This exhibition is the first in the MMCA x LG OLED Series presented by the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art and LG Electronics. Each year, one artist will be selected to showcase their artistic world in the 'Art Box' at MMCA. Regardless of the use of LG Electronics' products and technology, the selection will be based on the potential to expand contemporary visual art, with annual evaluations conducted.
Oh Hyewon, executive director at LG Electronics, said, "We are pleased to contribute to the immersive realization of the artist's new visual experiments using LG OLED's advanced technology," and added, "We hope this series will deliver a deeper and more profound sensory experience of contemporary art."
Kim Sunghee, director of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, stated, "The diverse experimental spirit of Chusu, the first artist selected for this project, vividly demonstrates the future-oriented creativity that the MMCA x LG OLED Series aims for. We expect that this exhibition, where technology and art intersect, will present the expansion and infinite possibilities of contemporary art."
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