Korean artist Im Heung-soon won the Silver Lion at the 56th Venice Biennale 2015 for his documentary film "Factory Complex," Saturday. This is the highest award ever received by an individual Korean artist at the world's oldest and most influential contemporary art event.
Im proved Korea's ever-growing presence on the contemporary art scene, along with the Korea pavilion winning the Golden Lion for Best National Participation the 14th International Architecture Exhibition of Venice Biennale in 2014.
Im was invited to showcase his work at the "All the World's Futures," the main international exhibition curated by Okwui Enwezor of the biennial art festival, along with two other Korean artists Kim A-young and Nam Hwa-yeon.
The 46-year-old artist presented a feature-length, 95-minute documentary "Factory Complex," which revolves around working women and female labor issues in Asia, including Korea, Vietnam and Cambodia.
Im majored in painting, but then began producing unique work combining art and film. The "Factory Complex" took some four years to prepare, shoot and edit.
Im introduced his work as a "dedication for all female laborers who sacrificed themselves for family just like his mother and sister."
Im's mother was an assistant at a sewing factory for some 40 years and his younger sister worked as a clerk at clothing and department stores for a long time. The artist took inspiration from these working women in his family and portrayed them in a unique way by juxtaposing interviews and experimental images.
May 10, 2015
