In 1996 the chapter on South Korea in the Human Rights Dialogue of the Carnegie Council on Ethics and International Affairs reported: "The state of civil and political rights in Korea has improved significantly over the last several years. Torture, in the most inhuman and brutal forms for which past military regimes were notorious, seem to have almost if not entirely, disappeared." Unfortunately, this change in the situation came too late for the artist Sung-Dam Hong. In 1989 he was imprisoned under the National Security Law for his statements on the visual arts and was only released from the Chonju prison in 1992 after intervention by, including others, Amnesty International Amsterdam. In the fast growing economy of South Korea computer games are incredibly popular and, just as elsewhere, based on pure fantasy. In the video/computer animation 'Breakaway, the Century of Sound and Fury', fiction and reality are terrifyingly intermingled. To the compelling highly rhythmic music by Won II, we see Hong's experiences of torture at the hands of the South Korean security service. In addition to the typical computer games frame he uses as basis his more classic series of art works 'Twenty days under the water' from 1999, alternating with sound and light signals like BREAKAWAY, WATER, ESCAPE FROM AIUR, LET'S GO… GO, GO and footage from 'Star Wars'. Hong transforms the horrible pain he underwent during the period of imprisonment into a positive question that calls for re-examination of the hostilities and fascism of the previous period.
Although he studied, and made a name for himself, in traditional media art, Hong has also made a solid reputation as maker of video/computer animations. Before 'Breakaway the Century of Sound and Fury' he made 'A Thousand People' (1995), 'The Daybreak' (1996), 'The Moon reflected in Thousand Rivers' (1997) and 'We go shopping at Mang Woel-Dong' (1998).
– Johan Pijnappel |
Computer graphics, animation: 4DR
Music: Won II
Hong Sung-Dam, 1955, Shinan/Chollanam-do (South Korea)
Lives and works in Goyang (South Korea)
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