emilgoh / Emil Goh, 2006
MD03 / Min Ji Cho, 2005
i_triangle / Kwang Hoon Hyun, 2005
MyCy series, digital prints 110 cm x 110 cm
About the work
My entire childhood was spent moving all over Malaysia when my father was transferred for work. It was kinda fun growing up in so many different houses. As a result, I’ve been fascinated how people live ever since.
In 2000, I made my first work involving domestic spaces. Between comprised of a series of 360º video panoramas. The rotating miniDV camera was perched on window sills so you could see a180º view of the inside of a room and the view outside. Since then there’s been two others in the series, one in Hong Kong and the last one in Seoul. The first one, made in London, is a single channel projection work and the Seoul version is a diptych video projection, so the image is effectively doubled in width.
The MyCy series was started after discovering it was a major form of communication between most urban Koreans in their 20’s. It’s popularity is no surprise after one discovers how sophisticated it is yet so user friendly. Coupled with the fact that super high speed broadband is the norm here and there’s a dollar-an-hour Internet café on just about every corner, updating your Minihompy (mini hompage) everyday is de rigueur.
What makes it so interesting is the miniroom, one of the main features of a Cyworld minihompy. It’s a blank room a user can decorate so in essence it becomes their online ‘living room” or any other type of space they desire. On the surface, it seems trivial, but it’s a reflection of life in Seoul as a young person. Most live with their parents till they get married and the home in general is exclusively for the family, not a place for socializing. So the miniroom is the public manifestation of one’s perfect “private” space.
Hence my fascination for domestic living situations has extended to their online versions and the pairing allows me to explore both landscapes.
About the artist
Born Johor Bahru, Malaysia 1966
Lives & works Seoul & Sydney
Represented by VWFA Gallery, Kuala Lumpur
Emil Goh is an Australian artist of Malaysian Chinese descent who is currently based in Seoul. As he child, his family moved constantly and as a result, his childhood was spent in various parts of the Malaysian peninsular & Singapore before completing his education in Australia & England. Since then, he has developed an interest in urban phenomenon and is fascinated with people’s relationships with technology, design & inhabiting highly dense cities. His previous projects have included simultaneous screenings of films & their international remakes (Remake, Busan Biennale, South Korea 2004), relationship bonding fashion (Couplelook, Sherman Gallery, Sydney 2004), urban guides (Umbrella Taxi, Charlottenborg Udstillingsbygning, Copenhagen 2005) & precycling (Grocery Bag Today... SSamzie Gallery, Seoul 2007).
Exhibition catalogue