Currently showcasing at: aluCine Latin Film + Media Arts Festival.
Favorite/most influential all time directors for you and why: David Lynch because he changed the way I think about narrative and story telling. The beginning, middle and an end do not have to be in order. Thanks to his movies, I began to fall in love with absurdity as comedy, as well as lost my desire to make sense of things. This was a necessary step that has allowed me to be where I am today in terms of the video art that I make. I thrive on the absurd and make fun of myself in my films. Spike Lee is another director whose influence might not be obvious in my own work but whose critical analysis of race/ class relations has had an impact on me.
Top 5 films of all time: Lost Highway, Smoke, ChungKing Express, Adaptation, Annie Hall
Selected filmography/stage work: An Urban Lullaby, ReOriented in Sao Paolo, Part of Exquisite Corpse Vol. 3, Cooling Reactors, Officer Tuba meets Happy Ghost
How did film become such an important part of your life?
When I first arrived in Toronto in 1996 to go to Ryerson, I started discovering many foreign films and films by “auteurs”. I began to discover films and understand that I loved great cinematography, which in turn made me fall in love with 35mm still photography. I literally love film over digital media though I work in video as well. The quality of the grain, texture and depth in film is something that video does not have. Three years ago, I began to make a transition from still photography, and photo-based work to moving images, video and film. I would say that art is an important part of my life which includes video art.
You are also a visual artist and photographer. How do you make all these diverse artistic tendencies make sense as part of a whole creative perspective?
The truth is I consider myself an artist rather than a filmmaker. Having said that, I don’t like categorizing myself or fixating my artistic identity in a box. The way I work changes depending on the project and the circumstances. The medium that I chose is inspired by the project itself. Even though I am now working in diverse mediums, before, I worked mainly with black and white photography in the darkroom. After 10 years of working in this fashion, I began to feel that I was repeating myself over and over again. I love the darkroom but currently taking a break. I am working on video art and experimental film/video. Regardless of the medium that I work in, all of my work is about identity whether personal, social, cultural, etc. I feel that themes of cultural diversity, hybridity, displacement, immigration, communication or the lack is evident in my work. Whether through photography or video, in some ways, my work has been studies of a place and its people as well as the manifestations of diversity within a specific context through my own perspective.
Re Oriented is the name of the short you are presenting at this year’s Alucine festival. What drove you to tell a story of Korean immigrants in Brazil?
I was born in Seoul, Korea, which was and remains to be a concrete urban jungle. On my 8th birthday, I left Korea and immigrated to Bolivia where I spent 5 formative years of my life. My personal experiences as an immigrant or as other from an early age has made me very curious about identity. This video also reflects my personal connection to the Korean diaspora.
ReOriented in Sao Paulo was part of a residency that I attended in Sao Paulo, Brazil for Traffic Jam #1 where 10 International artists gathered to make video art. I discovered the Korean neighbourhood in Sao Paulo where I saw the Korean style Hot Dog or Corn Dog as I remembered from my childhood in Korea. It gave me much joy to come across this Korean childhood treat in Sao Paulo and the project was born.
What’s next for you SoJin?
I am currently working on a piece for a single channel video installation at Gallerywest for the opening of their new space in December. Apart from that I continue to make art. The most important factor for me is to continue making art and showing it locally as well as internationally.
Where to find out more:
www.sojinchun.com
www.vimeo.com/sojinchun
Last 5 posts by Mikhail
- Mikhail's Must See Docs at Hot Docs 2012 - April 25th, 2012
- Your Left Side is your Best Side - April 23rd, 2012
- Alterviews: Another Road for Europe - February 20th, 2012
- Xchanges Chile: Part 1 "Introduction" - February 6th, 2012
- Social Heroes: Dwayne Holness - December 28th, 2011
