THE WORK OF ARTIST JAEWON KIM: VISUAL/AUDIOVISUAL NARRATIVES ABOUT DISSIDENT CORPOREALITIES LIVING WITH HIV IN THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA

Abstract

This work aimed to describe the visual/audiovisual narratives surrounding dissident bodies living with HIV in the Republic of Korea, based on three selected works by the artist Jaewon Kim: “Island of Restriction, Island of Paradise,” “Nuance,” and “Lingering State I-IV.” Using a text-to-context approach, we described the content and then explored its meanings and interpretations within the contemporary Korean context. From juxtaposed images of motel and hospital rooms, a succession of images depicting the experiences of a serodiscordant couple, and formless images composed of scattered fragments and particles, we situate ourselves within a context described by statistical data, metaphorical norms, and what Timothy Gitzen describes as banal security—that is, the constant threat that people will surrender their protection to national security agencies and then ignore or routinize the cost of that security. The manifestation of dissident bodies living with HIV as disturbances to national security can extend to the military sphere, but the interpretation of these queer bodies as exclusive reservoirs of viruses and diseases links the intimate space of the family to biological and national security.