Every fall, Seoul’s Leeum Museum of Art hosts blockbuster exhibitions to assert its position as a leading institution in the region, and this year is no exception. Two major shows, a solo presentation of Anicka Yi and the group exhibition “Dream Screen,” are running through the end of the year.
Yi’s “There Exists Another Evolution, But In This One” is certainly the headline attraction as the first and most expansive museum exhibition of the renowned Korean-American artist in Asia. Yet many visitors would agree that “Dream Screen,” organized by artist Rirkrit Tiravanija, has stolen some of the spotlight.
Infused with horror-genre themes, the show features a dynamic group of artists millennial-aged or younger whose practices explore and negotiate cultural encounters experienced through screens, whether via the internet, video games, or films within local and regional contexts. After its opening in September, the show quickly became one of the most talked-about exhibitions of the fall.
Installation view of 2024 Art Spectrum “Dream Screen.” Photo: Yeonje Kim. Image courtesy of Leeum Museum of Art.
The exhibition is part of the museum’s Art Spectrum program, a biennial initiative launched in 2001. Originally established as a platform to showcase emerging Korean artists amid the country’s growing contemporary art scene, this edition has been revamped. The previous award system was removed, and the program expanded its scope to feature artists from across the region. “Dream Screen” presents the work of 26 artists and collectives from various parts of Asia, organized by Tiravanija, who served as artistic director and co-curated the show with Leeum’s curator Hyo Gyoung Jean and guest curator Jiwon Yu.
Installation view of 2024 Art Spectrum Dream Screen. Photo: Yeonje Kim. Image courtesy of Leeum Museum of Art.
The show explores the proliferation of digital technologies and the sense of the uncanny that is created as our lives become overloaded with information, sensory stimuli, and narratives all shared through screens.
Perhaps there is no better way than presenting this in the form of a haunted house. The exhibition’s entrance is the façade of a house, which is inspired by the Winchester Mystery House, dubbed “the creepiest mansion” in the U.S. Built by Sarah Pardee Winchester, who received a massive inheritance from her late husband, William Winchester, a firearms mogul, the 110-room 19th-century mansion located in San Jose, California, was said to be built to house the spirits of those killed by the Winchester rifle so she could be spared by the ghosts of these victims.
Arlette Quynh-Anh Tran, The Spinning Shadows (2024) Commissioned by Leeum Museum of Art. Image courtesy the artist.
What connects an American haunted house to Asian horror? The exhibition offers no explicit explanation, but its format speaks volumes. Featuring 26 artists and collectives, each occupying a room, courtyard, or hallway within a labyrinthine structure inspired by the Winchester House, the show balances individual expression with a unified narrative. Given Asia’s legacy of iconic horror films like Ring (1998), The Eye (2002), and A Tale of Two Sisters (2003), it’s a fitting setting for exploring the genre’s global resonance.
Installation view of Bo Wang’s Asian Ghost Story (2023). Photo: Vivienne Chow.
As visitors enter the house, they are greeted by music from a live jam session at a bar—an installation by the international collective Sparkling Tap Water, whose members performed throughout the opening night. Deeper inside, a room features the haunting video installation Asian Ghost Story (2023) by Amsterdam-based, Chongqing-born artist Bo Wang. This powerful work reflects on the late 20th-century hair trade, set against Asia’s economic rise, industrialization, Cold War tensions, and migration.
Inspiration from Shan State and Chiang Rai (2023) by the Yangon-based artist Soe Yu Nwe. Photo: Vivienne Chow
Among the 60 works on show, 23 of them were commissioned by the museum and exhibited for the first time. One keeps making discoveries in this maze-like structure wandering from one room to the next, not knowing what to expect.
One room features Inspiration from Shan State and Chiang Rai (2023) by Yangon-based artist Soe Yu Nwe, an installation of delicate glass and ceramic sculptures resembling mysterious plants sprouting from bodily forms. The work draws inspiration from her family history and regional folklore. Meanwhile, a corridor showcases Forms of Perfect Love (2024) by Seoul- and Amsterdam-based artist Eunsae Lee, a whimsical mural depicting various forms of human connection.
Kaeru (2024) by Jihyun Jung. Photo: Yeonje Kim. Courtesy of Leeum Museum of Art
Ghost in the Machine (2024) by the Cebu-based Kolown is an installation of what appears to be a farm for internet trolls, consisting of 40 smartphones; it offers a critical take on how the ease of communication with digital devices can be a double-edged sword.
For those whose nightmares involve public scrutiny, Seoul-based Jihyun Jung’s Kaeru (2024) might be the most unsettling work in the exhibition. This large-scale installation invites visitors to attempt indoor wall climbing in front of an audience, forcing them to confront fears of failure and embarrassment.
While international blockbuster names are inevitable to draw audiences and sell tickets, platforming emerging talent from the region is equally important, especially when the global art community is becoming more receptive of artists of Asian roots. Leeum would do well to maintain this balance in its future programming.
“Anicka Yi: There Exists Another Evolution, But In This One” and “Dream Screen” run through December 29 at Leeum Museum of Art, 60-16 Itaewon-ro 55-gil, Seoul, South Korea.