Kyungah Ham

b. 1966 in Seoul, Korea
Working in Seoul, Korea
Showing at Asia Society Museum
On view October 27, 2020, through February 7, 2021
Kyungah Ham, What you see is the unseen / Chandeliers for Five Cities BK 04-06, 2016–17

Kyungah Ham, What you see is the unseen / Chandeliers for Five Cities BK 04-06, 2016–17. North Korean hand embroidery, silk threads on cotton, middle man, smuggling, bribe, tension, anxiety, censorship, ideology, wooden frame, approx. 2000 hrs/1 person. H. 100 3/8 x W. 70 1/2 in. (255 x 179 cm). Courtesy of the artist and Kukje Gallery. Photograph by Chunho An

Location: Asia Society Museum
Kyungah Ham, What you see is the unseen / Chandeliers for Five Cities BK 04-06 (detail), 2016–17

Kyungah Ham, What you see is the unseen / Chandeliers for Five Cities BK 04-06 (detail), 2016–17. North Korean hand embroidery, silk threads on cotton, middle man, smuggling, bribe, tension, anxiety, censorship, ideology, wooden frame, approx. 2000 hrs/1 person. H. 100 3/8 x W. 70 1/2 in. (255 x 179 cm). Courtesy of the artist and Kukje Gallery. Photograph by Chunho An

Location: Asia Society Museum
Kyungah Ham, What you see is the unseen / Chandeliers for Five Cities DSK 04-D-05, 2016–17

Kyungah Ham, What you see is the unseen / Chandeliers for Five Cities DSK 04-D-05, 2016–17. North Korean hand embroidery, silk threads on cotton, middle man, smuggling, bribe, tension, anxiety, censorship, ideology, wooden frame, approx. 1000 hrs/1 person. H. 50 x W. 34 1/4 in. (127 x 87 cm). Courtesy of the artist and Kukje Gallery. Photograph by Chunho An

Location: Asia Society Museum
Kyungah Ham, What you see is the unseen / Chandeliers for Five Cities DSK 04-D-05 (detail), 2016–17

Kyungah Ham, What you see is the unseen / Chandeliers for Five Cities DSK 04-D-05 (detail), 2016–17. North Korean hand embroidery, silk threads on cotton, middle man, smuggling, bribe, tension, anxiety, censorship, ideology, wooden frame, approx. 1000 hrs/1 person. H. 50 x W. 34 1/4 in. (127 x 87 cm). Courtesy of the artist and Kukje Gallery. Photograph by Chunho An

Location: Asia Society Museum
From left to right: Kyungah Ham, What you see is the unseen / Chandeliers for Five Cities BR 02-06, 2016–17; What you see is the unseen / Chandeliers for Five Cities BK-02-07, 2018; Courtesy of the artist and Kukje Gallery

Installation view of Asia Society Triennial: We Do Not Dream Alone at Asia Society Museum, New York, October 27, 2020–June 27, 2021. From left to right: Kyungah Ham, What you see is the unseen / Chandeliers for Five Cities BR 02-06, 2016–17; What you see is the unseen / Chandeliers for Five Cities BK 02-07, 2018; Courtesy of the artist and Kukje Gallery. Photograph © Bruce M. White, 2020

Location: Asia Society Museum
Kyungah Ham, What you see is the unseen / Chandeliers for Five Cities DSK M 02-D-05~07, 2018–19

Kyungah Ham, What you see is the unseen / Chandeliers for Five Cities DSK M 02-D-05~07, 2018–19. North Korean hand embroidery, silk threads on cotton, middle man, smuggling, bribe, tension, anxiety, censorship, ideology, wooden frame, approx. 1200 hrs/1 person (each panel). Three panels, each: H. 59 1/2 x W. 41 3/8 in. (151 x 105 cm). Courtesy of the artist and Kukje Gallery. Photograph by Chunho An

Location: Asia Society Museum
Kyungah Ham, What you see is the unseen / Chandeliers for Five Cities DSK M 02-D-05 (detail), 2018–19

Kyungah Ham, What you see is the unseen / Chandeliers for Five Cities DSK M 02-D-05 (detail), 2018–19. North Korean hand embroidery, silk threads on cotton, middle man, smuggling, bribe, tension, anxiety, censorship, ideology, wooden frame, approx. 1200 hrs/1 person (each panel). Three panels, each: H. 59 1/2 x W. 41 3/8 in. (151 x 105 cm). Courtesy of the artist and Kukje Gallery. Photograph by Chunho An

Location: Asia Society Museum
From left to right: Kyungah Ham, What you see is the unseen / Chandeliers for Five Cities BK 04-06, 2016–17; What you see is the unseen / Chandeliers for Five Cities DSK M 02-D-05~07, 2018–19; Courtesy of the artist and Kukje Gallery

Installation view of Asia Society Triennial: We Do Not Dream Alone at Asia Society Museum, New York, October 27, 2020–June 27, 2021. From left to right: Kyungah Ham, What you see is the unseen / Chandeliers for Five Cities BK 04-06, 2016–17; What you see is the unseen / Chandeliers for Five Cities DSK M 02-D-05~07, 2018–19; Courtesy of the artist and Kukje Gallery. Photograph © Bruce M. White, 2020

Location: Asia Society Museum
Kyungah Ham, What you see is the unseen / Chandeliers for Five Cities BK 04-06, 2016–17, Courtesy of the artist and Kukje Gallery

Installation view of Asia Society Triennial: We Do Not Dream Alone at Asia Society Museum, New York, October 27, 2020–June 27, 2021. Kyungah Ham, What you see is the unseen / Chandeliers for Five Cities BK 04-06, 2016–17, Courtesy of the artist and Kukje Gallery. Photograph © Bruce M. White, 2020

Location: Asia Society Museum
Kyungah Ham, What you see is the unseen / Chandeliers for Five Cities DSK 04-D-05, 2016-2017, Courtesy of the artist and Kukje Gallery

Installation view of Asia Society Triennial: We Do Not Dream Alone at Asia Society Museum, New York, October 27, 2020–June 27, 2021. Kyungah Ham, What you see is the unseen / Chandeliers for Five Cities DSK 04-D-05, 2016–17, Courtesy of the artist and Kukje Gallery. Photograph © Bruce M. White, 2020

Location: Asia Society Museum
From left to right: Kyungah Ham, What you see is the unseen / Chandeliers for Five Cities DSK 04-D-05, 2016–17; What you see is the unseen / Chandeliers for Five Cities BR 02-06, 2016–17; Courtesy of the artist and Kukje Gallery

Installation view of Asia Society Triennial: We Do Not Dream Alone at Asia Society Museum, New York, October 27, 2020–June 27, 2021. From left to right: Kyungah Ham, What you see is the unseen / Chandeliers for Five Cities DSK 04-D-05, 2016–17; What you see is the unseen / Chandeliers for Five Cities BR 02-06, 2016–17; Courtesy of the artist and Kukje Gallery. Photograph © Bruce M. White, 2020

Location: Asia Society Museum
From left to right: Kyungah Ham, What you see is the unseen / Chandeliers for Five Cities BR 02-06, 2016–17; What you see is the unseen / Chandeliers for Five Cities BK-02-07, 2018; What you see is the unseen / Chandeliers for Five Cities BK 04-06, 2016–17; Courtesy of the artist and Kukje Gallery

Installation view of Asia Society Triennial: We Do Not Dream Alone at Asia Society Museum, New York, October 27, 2020–June 27, 2021. From left to right: Kyungah Ham, What you see is the unseen / Chandeliers for Five Cities BR 02-06, 2016–17; What you see is the unseen / Chandeliers for Five Cities BK 02-07, 2018; What you see is the unseen / Chandeliers for Five Cities BK 04-06, 2016–17; Courtesy of the artist and Kukje Gallery. Photograph © Bruce M. White, 2020

Location: Asia Society Museum
From left to right: Kyungah Ham, What you see is the unseen / Chandeliers for Five Cities BR 02-06, 2016–17; What you see is the unseen / Chandeliers for Five Cities BK-02-07, 2018; What you see is the unseen / Chandeliers for Five Cities BK 04-06, 2016–17; What you see is the unseen / Chandeliers for Five Cities DSK M 02-D-05~07, 2018–19; Courtesy of the artist and Kukje Gallery

Installation view of Asia Society Triennial: We Do Not Dream Alone at Asia Society Museum, New York, October 27, 2020–June 27, 2021. From left to right: Kyungah Ham, What you see is the unseen / Chandeliers for Five Cities BR 02-06, 2016–17; What you see is the unseen / Chandeliers for Five Cities BK 02-07, 2018; What you see is the unseen / Chandeliers for Five Cities BK 04-06, 2016–17; What you see is the unseen / Chandeliers for Five Cities DSK M 02-D-05~07, 2018–19; Courtesy of the artist and Kukje Gallery. Photograph © Bruce M. White, 2020

Location: Asia Society Museum
From left to right: Kyungah Ham, What you see is the unseen / Chandeliers for Five Cities DSK 04-D-05, 2016–17; What you see is the unseen / Chandeliers for Five Cities BR 02-06, 2016–17; What you see is the unseen / Chandeliers for Five Cities BK-02-07, 2018; Courtesy of the artist and Kukje Gallery

Installation view of Asia Society Triennial: We Do Not Dream Alone at Asia Society Museum, New York, October 27, 2020–June 27, 2021. From left to right: Kyungah Ham, What you see is the unseen / Chandeliers for Five Cities DSK 04-D-05, 2016–17; What you see is the unseen / Chandeliers for Five Cities BR 02-06, 2016–17; What you see is the unseen / Chandeliers for Five Cities BK 02-07, 2018; Courtesy of the artist and Kukje Gallery. Photograph © Bruce M. White, 2020

Location: Asia Society Museum
Kyungah Ham, What you see is the unseen / Chandeliers for Five Cities DSK M 02-D-05~07, 2018–19; Courtesy of the artist and Kukje Gallery

Installation view of Asia Society Triennial: We Do Not Dream Alone at Asia Society Museum, New York, October 27, 2020–June 27, 2021. Kyungah Ham, What you see is the unseen / Chandeliers for Five Cities DSK M 02-D-05~07, 2018–19; Courtesy of the artist and Kukje Gallery. Photograph © Bruce M. White, 2020

Location: Asia Society Museum
Installation View of Phantom Footsteps

Kyungah Ham, Installation view of Phantom Footsteps, Kukje Gallery, Seoul, 2015. Courtesy of the artist and Kukje Gallery. Photograph by Keith Park

Kyungah Ham’s multifaceted practice is driven by an interest in mapping unseen power dynamics dictated by sociopolitical ideologies and subjective histories. She is best known for her embroidered canvases created in dialogue with anonymous North Korean artisans who convert Ham’s coded instructions into intricate embroideries, which are then smuggled back to the artist in South Korea to be integrated into the finished compositions. Ham’s provocatively collaborative works explore not only the societal impact of the partition of the Korean peninsula but also the devastating consequences politically imposed borders have on societies. The artist received a BFA from Seoul National University in 1989 and an MFA from the School of Visual Arts, New York, in 1995. 


The selected embroideries included in the Asia Society Triennial are from the series What you see is the unseen / Chandeliers for Five Cities. This body of work was inspired by the historic decision made by foreign powers—namely China, England, Russia, and the United States—to formally separate Korea into northern and southern halves after World War II, when Korea was under Japanese rule. In these works, the sumptuous crystal-chandelier motif, evocative of privilege, desire, and the geopolitical power of the aforementioned countries, is depicted at various degrees of fragmentation until the form is completely obliterated. Ham’s disintegration of the image reflects the dissolution of a culture while the thousands of individual stitches, the handiwork of unknown North Korean artisans, is an attempt to connect the common people whose lives continue to be dictated by the partition of the Korean peninsula.  

Supported by Korea Foundation.

Supported in-kind by Kukje Gallery.

Events

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A cat peers over a series of artworks in a photography by Kyungah Ham

Photograph courtesy of the artist
Photograph courtesy of the artist
Artist Q&A

Dreaming With: Kyungah Ham

In the lead up to the Triennial opening, our Dreaming With Q&A series provides an exclusive glimpse into the artists’ lives and studios.
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