Sungseok AHN employs a variety of mediums such as photography, video, 3D modeling,VR, and game engines to recombine time and space across the virtual and real. Through this process, he tracks the accumulation of temporality and traces of existence in places, exploring their value and meaning. In particular, as an individual living in the contemporary era, the artist passes through his personal experiences. In this way, he extends these experiences from the private realm into the public sphere of societal discourse and issues, aiming to explore solutions and practical possibilities for overcoming challenges.
In his early photographic series Historic Present (2008-2012), Ahn Sungseok created a third space-time by projecting past photographs onto present-day historic sites using a projector. Since 2012, he has actively utilized cutting-edge technology and mediums to construct virtual spaces and encourage viewers to participate. The artist mainly presents immersive virtual spaces from a first-person perspective. This approach allows the viewer(participant) to manipulate controls such as handles or joysticks and physically move within the space to explore. However, unlike conventional games, the artist does not provide viewers with the enjoyment of game performance or specific goals to achieve. They can only move within the map designed by the artist, which closely resembles powerless individuals managed and controlled under systems and regulations in the real world. The viewer senses the virtual space aided by devices, but doesn’t perceive this world merely as an illusion or fabrication. The viewer’s body becomes a part of the interface that connects the virtual and the real worlds, constantly generating images and opening up new spaces. The physical sense of the viewer connected to the virtual space doesn’t confine itself solely to the virtual space; rather, it expands into tangible and empirical space through bodily interactions. As the body gets involved, the subject establishes a relation with another world. Through the establishment of this relationship, An intends to offer an opportunity to understand subjects in other worlds and strives to foster sense of community.
Sungseok AHN majored in photography and video at university. He has received accolades such as the Sony World Photography Awards in the Architecture category (2014) and the Monthly Photo Art Today’s Artist Award (2010). Recently, he held a solo exhibition title Yesterday, We Were Many. Today, We Are Alone (2022), and has been actively participating in group exhibitions including Do You Miss the Future? (2021) and Young Korean Artists 2019: Liquid Glass Sea (2019).