Diversifying Academia 2022-2023

Diversifying Academia 2022-2023

Anne Kim is an undergraduate student in Art History and Film Studies at Concordia University. Her academic passions revolve around exploring identity, multifaceted intersectional experiences, and research of diasporic communities. Beyond her acdemic pursuits, Anne dedicates time to creative projects working with mixed media, mainly embroidery, painting, and photography.
Supervising Librarian: John Latour

Exploring the Layers of Identity: The Fluidity of The Korean-Canadian Diasporic Experience through Art

“Living in diaspora is a dynamic process; thus, static conceptions of identity are of limited use.”^[1]

What is a diasporic experience, and whose experiences are included in this concept? The term “diaspora” itself is rooted in the Greek language, meaning “to sow over, or to scatter,” and historically has strong ties to the Jewish diaspora deriving from the Jewish dispersal in Babylon recounted in the Greek translation of the book of Deuteronomy of the Hebrew Bible. However, this association with Jewish communities began to blur after the surge of worldwide migrations following the Second World War where multiple new diasporas emerged and are contemporarily used to describe all people who historically share a geographic place of origin who reside outside of their “homeland.”^[2] This essay specifically explores the Korean diaspora in Canada through an analysis of three art exhibitions that critically engage with issues of identity, nationhood and the Korean diasporic experience. As the article demonstrates, the artists whose works were presented in these exhibitions seek to uncover layers of a Korean-Canadian identity from a transnational feminist perspective.

The nation of Korea has historically experienced multiple periods of overseas migration rooted in constant political turbulence. For political and economic reasons - from escaping Imperial rule under Japanese colonialism from the early to mid-1900s to the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997 - many Koreans opted for overseas migration for the sake of their families and their survival.^[3] As a result of threats against Korea and mass migration, concern began to emerge on a national level, and in particular from diasporic communities, for the loss of Korean culture and identity.^[4] Therefore, nationalistic projects began to develop to fortify a “Korean” identity “based on solidarity through ethnic homogeneity.”^[5] While these projects may have led to an invigorated sense of belonging and community for those of Korean descent, they inevitably created a master narrative around the idea of Korean identity. This narrative was itself incapable of grasping the complexities of an individual's unique lived experiences and other characteristics of their personal identity such as nationality, race, gender, sexuality, and social background. The difference between this master narrative of "what it means to be Korean" and lived experiences is especially significant for members of the diasporic communities - who are unable to keep in touch with everything happening in Korea while adapting to their new country.

Canada is a nation where hundreds of diasporas of different ethnicities and nationalities have settled and consider the country as their “home.” Amongst them, the Korean diaspora in Canada is still considered a new and growing ethnic community that had only begun to see a rise in Korean migration after the 1970s. Within the Canadian diaspora, the idea of “Koreaness” or the “Korean identity” is a topic those who are part of the community have often voiced, focusing on struggles of cultural differences and the hardships of immigration. As much value as this frame of reference holds within Canadian history, it is also a delicate perspective that can easily blend into hegemonic narratives of what it means to be “Canadian.” It could, for instance, encourage Korean Canadians to ignore the implications of their role as settlers of colour on Indigenous land. This essay aims to highlight the multi-layers and complexities behind a “Korean-Canadian” identity outside the common perception of Korean culture as an ethnically and culturally “homogenous” community.

It is essential to recognize the value of a transnational feminist approach in the analysis and how this approach brings together the three exhibitions discussed: at the PHI Foundation in Tio'tia:ke/Montreal, the Korean Cultural Center in Ottawa and the Whitechapel Gallery in London. Derived from Mohanty’s book, Feminism Without Borders, the concept of transnational feminism is an “antiracist feminist framework, anchored in decolonization and committed to an anticapitalist critique” that transcends all physical and symbolic borders.^[6] It is a strategy that acknowledges issues of “sexism, racism, misogyny, and heterosexism” as foundational to the structure of society and aims to create social change against these systemic and repressive forces. A transnational feminist perspective aspires to include the voices of those repressed under current societal systems and recognize their experiences within the canon of Canadian history. Taking a closer look at the exhibitions … and room in the bag of stars,^[7] Reimagining Places,^[8] and House Gods, Animal Guides, and Five Ways 2 Forgiveness,^[9] through a transnational feminist lens will show how these artists explore underrepresented narratives and critically engage with the Korean-Canadian identity.

Artist kimura byol - nathalie lemoine (ze/zer)^[10] is an Tio'tia:ke/Montreal-based artist who shares zer particular experience as a Korean adoptee raised in Belgium and zer encounters with other members of the Korean diaspora worldwide. Exhibited at the PHI Foundation,^[11] SAEKDONG색동DIASPORA is an installation kimura exhibited as zer participation in the group exhibition … and room in the bag of stars following zer residency carried out during the summer of 2021. SAEKDONG색동DIASPORA is the artist’s response to the exhibition’s thematic prompt to explore moments of “prolonged social isolation, to imagine spaces, temporalities, conditions, or systems where we can all get together, again.”^[12] Comprised of eight different works, zer multimedia installation surrounds themes of ethnic identity, nationality, adoption and migration based on the artist’s transnational experience as a Korean adoptee through natural materials and organic objects. Ranging from short films to Japanese art materials saved from a flooded apartment, all together, kimura byol - nathalie lemoine creates a travelling adventure across space and time, generating a temporal experience of nostalgia and memories eminent to zer identity and personhood. By bringing the viewer along on zer journey, kimura presents their unique encounters with life as a person of Korean descent. Ze shows how zer identity (as a queer artist, adoptee, and individual who has experienced physical, cultural, and emotional displacement) has affected how they approach issues of colonialism, globalization and identity-based subjects. kimura byol - natalie lemoine's art practice challenges traditional perceptions of what it means to be an "ideal Korean-Canadian" - an ideal that is itself rooted in colonial values. kimura byol - nathalie lemoine’s artistic practices embody the artist’ life which in a sense breaks the barriers and grows the narrative of the Korean diaspora in Canada that encompasses valuable voices that are overlooked within both Korean and Canadian communities.      

Recently exhibited at the Korean Culture Center in Ottawa,^[13] Reimagining Places: Land, Store, Home, co-curated by Vicki Sung-yeon Kwon and Hong Kal is a group exhibition comprised of works by artists Jin-me Yoon, Diana Yoo, and Yoon Jin Jung. The exhibition presents works of art that explore “Canadian” national identity and its multi-layered experiences as settlers and artists of colour on colonized land. Through their works, the artists allude to ideas of colonialism, capitalism, and displacement through depictions focused on landscapes, residencies, and convenience stores. Their allusions invite viewers to critically engage in conversations around the concept of a national identity, specifically a Canadian one, and recognize the narratives that Canada pushes forward as a multicultural, liberal nation where identity-based discrimination is barely present (or almost non-existent). Reimagining Places: Land, Store, Home brings light to the ever-present reality of Canadian society that continues to neglect the struggles of Indigenous peoples and other marginalized communities against structures of racism, colonialism, and capitalism. Through Yoon Jin Jung’s focus on the idea of displacement, Jin Me Yoon’s portrayals of colonial and environmental destruction, and Diana Yoo’s self-examination of her own implications as a settler of colour (by exploring the relations between migrants and the value of their labour within a capitalist culture), this exhibition encourages viewers and those of Korean descent to self-reflect and question their everyday habits that may unintentionally support predominant narratives that continue to harm other communities.

Presented at the Whitechapel Gallery in London, Zadie Xa exhibited her largest solo exhibition inspired by personal experiences as a Korean-Canadian and her commitment to engaging with issues of hybridity and diasporic identities. Born in Vancouver and based in London, UK, Xa focuses her multimedia practices around themes of “familial legacies, interspecies communication and diasporic worlding”^[14] with a focus on Korean mythology and storytelling to convey her explorations around the diaspora experience. House Gods, Animal Guides, and Five Ways to Forgiveness is an installation that presents a liminal and critical experience in between worlds of spirituality. The installation also explores lived experiences mediated through Princess Bari, a recurring shamanistic figure in Xa's works and the viewers' guide throughout the exhibition. As an artist, Xa is drawn to Korean shamanism. She draws on it to understand a part of Korean culture that is uniquely feminist and anti-colonial.^[15] In Korean culture, the figure of the shaman is most often a female subject described as “mudang.” Shamanism is a practice that has historically been deemed a threat to society. It is a tradition that, according to some, needed to be abandoned to achieve modernity.^[16] Korean shamanism was also one of the many cultures that Japanese colonialism aimed to eradicate. Xa uses the traditions of Korean shamanism through her art as a method to unearth repressed histories and narratives of those marginalized within societies where colonial and patriarchal structures are sustained. Always relating to her own experience as a member of the Korean diaspora in Canada, Zadie Xa pursues an artistic practice as a constant critical exploration of her own diasporic experience and the human condition.

A “Korean-Canadian” identity and diasporic experience contain a multitude of layers linked to an individual’s personal identity. While mainstream depictions of Korean culture remain an element of the national identity, it should not set any boundaries or define being Korean within the diaspora community. As presented, artists kimura byol - nathalie lemoine, Jin-Me Yoon, Diana Yoo, Yoon Jin Jung and Zadie Xa are some of the many artists of Korean descent who explore narratives beyond predominant perceptions of what it means to be a part of the Korean-Canadian diaspora. These artists use their practices to challenge cultural norms and societal discrimination. They highlight the ongoing injustices against Indigenous and other marginalized communities that continue to be repressed by Canadian societal structures entrenched by colonial histories. As simple as it is to depict and promote Koreaness in accordance with the “traditions” of Korean culture, it is clear that there is so much more to Korean visual culture (and Korean culture in general) to explore. There are a multitude of perspectives and stories that continue to be shared. In as much as Korean society is changing, the narrative around the Korean diaspora should be imminently evolving as well.

^[1] Hijoo Son, and Jooyeon Rhee, “Introduction to ‘Diasporic Art and Korean Identity’,” Cross-Currents: East Asian History and Culture Review, no. 29 (December 2018): 5, https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7t22p1dv.

^[2] Gabriel Sheffer, "Diaspora," Encyclopedia Princetoniensis, Princeton University, last accessed August 26, 2023, https://pesd.princeton.edu/node/256.

^[3] In-Jin Yoon, “Onward Migration of Overseas Koreans and Pluralization of the Overseas Korean Community,” in The Korean Diaspora: A Sourcebook, ed. In-Jin Yoon and Young-Hun Jeong (Seongnam: The Academy of Korean Studies Press, 2017), 8-9.

^[4] Hijoo Son, and Jooyeon Rhee, “Introduction to ‘Diasporic Art and Korean Identity,” Cross-Currents: East Asian History and Culture Review, no. 29 (December 2018): 2, https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7t22p1dv.

^[5] Ibid.

^[6] Chandra Talpade Mohanty, Feminism without Borders: Decolonizing Theory, Practicing Solidarity, Durham: (Duke University Press, 2003), 3.

^[7] Exhibited at the PHI Foundation from September 22nd to January 9th, 2022.

^[8] Exhibited at the Korean Cultural Center Ottawa from April 27th to June 9th, 2023.

^[9] Exhibited at the Whitechapel Gallery in London from September 20th to April 30th 2023.

^[10] Ze/zer is a gender neutral or gender ambiguous pronoun and the preferred pronoun of the artist.

^[11] This show was presented in the unceded Indigenous land of Tio'tia:ke/Montreal.

^[12] “... and room in the bag of stars: Exhibition,” PHI Foundation, last accessed August 23, 2023, https://phi.ca/en/events/and-room-in-the-bag-of-stars/.

^[13] This center is located on unceded land and peoples of the Anishinaabe Algonquin nation.

^[14] “CV - Zadie Xa,” Zadie Xa. Last accessed September 9, 2023, https://www.zadiexa.com/about.

^[15] Sarah Shin, “Art Is a Shapeshifter: Zadie Xa in Conversation with Sarah Shin,” Remain Modern, last modified March 21, 2023, https://remaimodern.org/art-artists/art-artists-all/art-is-a-shapeshifter-zadie-xa-in-conversation-with-sarah-shin/.

^[16] “The ‘Mudang’: The Colonial Legacies of Korean Shamanism” in Han Kūt: Critical Art and Writing by Korean Canadian Women, ed. The Korean Canadian Women’s Anthology Collective (Toronto: Inanna Publications and Education Inc., 2007), 104.

[Artists' BIOs]

Raised in Belgium and now settled in Tio'tia:ke/Montreal, kimura byol - nathalie lemoine  (ze/zer) is a conceptual multimedia feminist artist, curator and activist who has established a career engaging with issues of identity, often inspired through personal experience as an agendered, atypic, Korean-born adoptee. Zer artistic practice is dedicated to continuously questioning the conventional narratives around identities and highlighting the experiences of those marginalized by these restrictions.

Website: https://starkimproject.com/

Based in Vancouver, which is located on unceded, ancestral and continually asserted territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) First Nations, Jin-Me Yoon is a Korean-born visual artist whose works explore the relations of tourism, militarism, and colonialism. In 2018, she was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and was also the 2022 recipient of the prestigious Scotiabank Photography Award.

Website: http://www.jin-meyoon.com/bio.html

Diana Yoo is a second-generation Korean-Canadian photo-based artist, educator, and researcher. Yoo is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Education: Language, Culture and Teaching at York University which is located on the traditional territory of many nations including the Anishinabek Nation, the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, and the Huron-Wendat. Yoo's instersectional identity as a second-generation, Korean-Canadian, racilaized female is foundational to her self-reflexive autobiographical research. Her explorations question what it means to be a racialized settler on colonized land.

Website: https://www/dianayoo.ca/

Zadie Xa was born in Vancouver and is now based in London, UK. Xa is a multimedium artist of Korean descent whose practices range from installations to live performances, to issues of “familial legacies, interspecies communication and diasporic worlding” while often alluding to ideas of a “homeland” through the depiction of water and marine ecology.

Website: https://www.zadiexa.com/

Yoon Jin-Jung is an interdisciplinary artist and curator based in Toronto and Seoul. Jung creates installations that embody physical and digital spaces based on perceptual data, in order to explore suggested environments in specific times and locations.

Works cited, Annotated bibliography & Other suggested resources

WORKS CITED

“... and room in the bag of stars: Exhibition.” PHI Foundation. Accessed August 23, 2023. https://phi.ca/en/events/and-room-in-the-bag-of-stars/.

“CV - Zadie Xa,” Zadie Xa. Last accessed September 9, 2023, https://www.zadiexa.com/about.

The Korean Canadian Women’s Anthology Collective, ed. Han Kūt: Critical Art and Writing by Korean Canadian Women. Toronto: Inanna Publications and Education Inc., 2007. 1–14. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7t22p1dv.

Lee, Hye-Kyung. “Cultural Policy and the Korean Wave: From National Culture to Transnational Consumerism .” In The Korean Wave: Korean Media Go Global, edited by Youna Kim, 185–98. London: Routledge, 2013.

Mohanty, Chandra Talpade. Feminism without Borders: Decolonizing Theory, Practicing Solidarity. Durham: Duke University Press, 2003.

Sheffer, Gabriel. “Diaspora | The Princeton Encyclopedia of Self-Determination.” Princeton University. Accessed August 26, 2023. https://pesd.princeton.edu/node/256.

Shin, Sarah. “Art Is a Shapeshifter: Zadie Xa in Conversation with Sarah Shin.” Remai Modern, March 21, 2023. https://remaimodern.org/art-artists/art-artists-all/art-is-a-shapeshifter-zadie-xa-in-conversation-with-sarah-shin/.

Son, Hijoo, and Jooyeon Rhee. “Introduction to ‘Diasporic Art and Korean Identity.’” Cross-Currents: East Asian History and Culture Review, no. 29 (December 1, 2018): 1-14.      

Yoon, In-Jin and Young-Hun Jeong, eds. The Korean Diaspora: A Sourcebook. Seongnam, Gyeonggi: The Academy of Korean Studies Press, 2017.

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bassuet, Andre L., ed. Roots: Korean Diaspora. Rhode Island, 2023.

This is a collaborative artists’ book that showcases works by Korean American artists and their engagement around the theme of “roots.” Started by the artist, curator, and editor of the book, Bassuet began this publication as a “passion project” to represent artworks and artists rooted in the Korean American and diaspora experience. It was concurrently published with the exhibition Roots: Korean Diaspora at the Aborn Gallery in Rhode Island. This handmade work includes pages that are letterpressed, silkscreened, risographed, sewn and digitally printed. Collectively created with eighteen Korean American artists and their explorations with memories, gender, and cultural roles by examining their history and migration. Identity, longing and acceptance are running themes throughout the works. This is an important publication that presents current Korean-American artists and their ways of navigating around their identity and life experiences in current times.

Chen, Howie., ed. Godzilla: Asian American Arts Network 1990-2001. 2021.

This book brings together a collection of writings, documentation and ephemera from Godzilla: Asian American Arts Network, a New York-based collective that was active between 1990 to 2001. Founded by Ken Chu, Bing Lee, and Margo Machida, Godzilla was a group of Asian American artists, curators, and writers who strove for social change and aimed for visibility and critical engagement with underrepresented issues, such as institutional racism, Western imperialism, anti-Asian violence, the AIDS crisis, and the intersectionalities of an Asian diasporic identity. The group formed a social space for diasporic Asian artists and included members, Tomie Arai, Karin Higa, Byron Kim, Paul Pfeiffer, Eugenie Tsai, Alice Yang, Lynne Yamamoto, among others. This is a powerful book that documents the collective’s history and includes full essays and contextual material detailing the critical genealogies embodied by the group as well as its wide-ranging activities.

Desai, Viashakha N., Margo Machida and John Kuowei Tchen. Asia/America: Identities in Contemporary Asian American Art. New York: Asia Society Gallery, 1994.

This book was published in conjunction with the 1994 exhibited show, Asia/America: Identities in Contemporary Asian American Art at the Asia Society Galleries. It features works by twenty artists of Asian descent who are based in the United States. The publication includes three essays and documentation about works that explore questions of biculturalism and the complexities behind an Asian-American identity. It is one of the earliest catalogues to be published about these topics and has made a great contribution to the study of contemporary American art. It includes works by artists of Korean descent such as David Chung, Hochoi Sung, Jinsoo Kim, and Yongsoon Min. I believe this publication brings valuable perspectives and studies of Asian diaspora visual culture that includes but is also not limited to, Korean diaspora art.

Farver, Jane, Minne Jungmin Hong, Elaine H. Kim and Youngchul Lee. Across the Pacific: Contemporary Korean & Korean American Art. New York: The Queens Museum of Art, 1993.

Published in conjunction with the show Across the Pacific: Contemporary Korean & Korean-American Art exhibited at the Queens Museum of Art in 1993 and the Kumho Museum of Art in 1994. This exhibition catalogue features a collection of artworks by    twenty-three Korean-American and Korean-Canadian artists, along with early works by  Jin-Me Yoon. Its essays explore issues around racial tensions, cultural displacement, and the construction of cultural identity. While the publication dates 30 years back and may not include content that represents contemporary changes happening today, I believe it remains an important source that brings larger exposure to North American artists of the Korean diaspora. As well, it continues to be an important archival document when researching the histories of Korean diaspora artist and their works.

Ho, Christopher K., and Daisy Nam. eds. Best! Letters from Asian Americans in the Arts. Brooklyn: Paper Monument, 2021.

Collaboratively created with over seventy-three contributors in North America, ranging from artists, curators, critics and scholars, who gathered to create an insightful publication around Asian and Asian American art issues. This book was published during a political time when Asian Americans were experiencing heightened visibility and uncertainty. Touching on personal stories around their backgrounds, family histories, and racialized experiences, the editors chose to publish the writings in the format of letters to convey the intimacy and vulnerability behind the writers’ voices and share their everyday lives, dreams, and rage. Editor Christopher K. Ho was also appointed as the executive director of the Asian Art Archive organization. Daisy Nam is the executive director and curator at the Ballroom Marfa Museum in Texas. I believe this is a critical text that gives an intimate insight into understanding the encounters Asian Americans and the Asian diaspora experience.

Kim, Jung-Rak. Diaspora: Korean Nomadism. Seoul: Hollym Corp. Publishers, 2011.

Part of the larger collection Contemporary Korean Art Series, Diaspora: Korean Nomadism presents concepts of nomadism and diaspora on overseas Korean artists and their contributions to the Korean art scene with their unique experiences and geopolitical contexts. Divided into nine chapters, Kim illustrates the histories of Korean art and culture, the diaspora experiences and the significance behind one’s “Koreaness” and “Korean art.” By focusing on works by acclaimed artists Lee U-Fan, Paik Nam June, and Suh Do-Ho, among others, this book presents the histories of Korean artists and their artistic engagements with their experiences living overseas (as early as the 1950s). It is also important to highlight that this book is funded by Arts Council Korea and represents the diasporic experience with the possibility of government influence in representing Korean culture in Korea (rather than first-hand experience by diasporic artists).

Kim, Yuyeon, D. Dominick Lombardi, Richard Vine and Thalia Vrachopoulos. Contemporary Korean Artists in New York. Seoul: Seoul Arts Center, 2007.

This catalogue includes works by nineteen Korean artists based in New York presented during  the joint exhibition of Contemporary Korean Artists in New York at the Seoul Arts Center in 2007. Works in the exhibition range from installations, paintings, and video art. With a chapter fully dedicated to Korean diaspora artists authored by Thalia Vrachopoulos, this publication covers the American Korean diaspora which has historically been the longest-studied group amongst other Korean diasporas. Although the book may not include direct representations of the diasporic experience, the publication itself is an archival documentation of Korean diaspora arts. While the geo-political context is specific to lived experiences in New York, I believe this book provides an important source for comparison and relatability within the larger context of North America.

KOREAMERICAKOREA. Seoul: Artsonje Center, 2000.

Including the works of the late artist and author of the revolutionary Dictée, CHA Hakkyung Theresa, KOREAMERICAKOREA was published concurrently with the exhibition presented at the Artsonje Center in Seoul, co-curated by David A. Ross and Sunjung Kim in 2000. The catalogue presents works by eleven Korean-American artists and their lived experiences as part of the Korean-American diaspora. Their works include sculptures, installations, photography, video art and performance arts. The book delves into identity-based topics and explores these experiences in relation to temporal spaces and locations. Although the publication focuses on experiences specific to the American geopolitical context, I believe it remains relevant to the understanding of the diaspora.

Lemoine, kimura byol - Nathalie. O.K.A.Y. N.p.: one gook and star~kim production, n.d.

Comprised of six volumes published from 2001 to 2008, O.K.A.Y books (Overseas Korea Artist Yearbook) is a collection of Korean artists and their experiences being part of the Korean diaspora worldwide, including the United States, Japan, Europe and Brazil. This book first emerged as a political critique against the exhibition KOREAMERICAKOREA at the Artsonje Center in Seoul and their decision to exclude Korean adoptees from the conversations around the Korean diaspora experience. As a result, kimura byol - nathalie lemoine brings a larger and more inclusive definition behind the significance of being “Korean” and exposes artists whose place in the Korean diaspora may have otherwise been unacknowledged as such.

Malik, Tarini, ed. Zadie Xa: House Gods, Animals Guides and Five Ways 2 Forgiveness. London: Whitechapel Gallery, 2023.

This is the first exhibition catalogue dedicated to the work of Zadie Xa. It was published to accompany the artist’s solo exhibition at the Whitechapel Gallery in London, House Gods, Animals Guides and Five Ways 2 Forgiveness. The exhibition includes Xa's photographs and her immersive installation. The catalogue includes a curatorial introduction by curators Tarini Malik and Inês Costa, several essays, a commissioned poem, and documentation of the artist's past exhibitions and performances. This book plays with the artist’s mythical approach to diasporic identities and desires to highlight forgotten and suppressed narratives. It contributes an important perspective that explores the diasporic identity as a Korean-Canadian through the lens of folklore, spiritual rituals, and knowledge that had become repressed in both Western and Korean culture. I believe this book is an important source to the collections of visual arts and to the expansion of the Korean diaspora collection in Concordia.

Other Suggested Resources

Asian Art Archive - https://aaa.org.hk/en

Asia Art Archive in America - https://www.aaa-a.org/

Sticky Rice Magazine - https://stickyrice-magazine.com/