Kim Ga-Ram�s �#SELSTAR� reflects on reality that an artwork is used as a
background of a selfie as a proof, not for appreciation. �#SELSTAR� is created to be
a background from the very beginning and built three-dimensional letters. This work invites audiences to use a built-in camera, which is specifically designed for selfie, makeup tools, pink-colored lightings, and mirrors to take selfies and upload them on social networks. �Selstar� means a person who became a star by posting their selca
(selfie). They usually tag �selstargram� hashtag and this tag works as a search word. These images are shared by people online. This work encourages people to take
selfies against the work as a background and make them as a main subject of this work. For this exhibition, Kim initiated �#SELSTAR×YOU� project. The artist shoot
videos of volunteered participants against the work and uploaded these interview
videos on Instagram and projected this Instagram page onto the exhibition wall. The
work can be finally completed when audiences� experiences are shared on Instagram.
The main person of the video will be changed any minute as the interview moves on to the next person. This reflects on the situation that anybody can be a star by drawing interests and attentions on social networks overnight and disappear quickly. In a
similar context, Kim Changkyum�s �Dance� puts audiences in the center of attention on
a monitor. When somebody stands in front of a monitor, a built�in camera captures
a person and inserts images of dancers, flowers, and butterflies. The final image will be shown with music. In this way, they become a main person of virtual reality space. Thus, the first floor of the museum is a space for audiences to take selfies and become a main person on the stage. 2.
Many artists painted self�portraits as a way to study themselves. Well known artists
such as Rembrandt, Vincent van Gogh, Henri Matisse, and Andy Warhol didn�t limit
this genre to be only about their appearances but attempted to include their unique
tendencies, inner state, agonies about works, and expression techniques through selfportraits. It would be only possible when they went through steps like contemplation and research. This exhibition aims to show the modern people�s desires towards
selfie and thoughts on artists� identities and images of our time through selfie taken
by participating artists including Kim Insook and Benjamin Rabe(KIM×RABE), Koh
Sangwoo, Amalia Ulman. While I was discussing the selfie phenomenon with Insook Kim, we planned two ways to exhibit her works. One is showing pictures and video installations from �Letter to You�, a documentary series about Kim herself who is a
Korean-Japanese. She documented a year since she has started living in Korea at the age of twenty while trying to find her true identity from the experience. Another is a research project which was made possible in collaboration with a Tokyo based social scientist, Benjamin Rabe, who is deeply interested in the Asian culture. They researched and analyzed the selfie phenomenon in Korea and Japan. For a relatively short period time, Rabe went back and forth between Korea and Japan and conducted surveys and interviews. Based on his findings, Rabe exhibits a report containing data and writings
about selfie under a project entitled �Visual Face�. Kim Insook exhibits interview videos
and selfie photos of Korean and Korean-Japanese participants which she collected for a year. This work enables us to see the differences between artist's self-portrait and 11