Sang Woo Kim “All of my work is autobiographical: it’s about the being, the self. I create to be able to gain a deeper understanding of myself and in turn, to comprehend the world better. The self-portrait paintings featured in the Hauser & Wirth show delve into my experience of discrimination and racism rooted in the way I looked growing up in the Western gaze.
“‘The slit you made’ painting in the show is a self-portrait focusing on a section of my face with a black eye. It’s a provocation to the viewers, who are predominantly Western, since I was discriminated against for having ‘slitty’ or ‘no eyes’. The bruise metaphorically represents the enduring pain that has shaped my entire life. This bruise however has made me who I am today, and I’m now able to tell these struggles to the world through my art.