The Korean Cultural Center in Hong Kong presents exhibition Concrete + Jungle (2023 Open Call Artists), featuring the major artworks of the four artists from Korea and Hong Kong, KyungJin JEONG, Ken CHUNG, Mindy LUI and Yiseul JUNG including their paintings, installations and video productions. The artists captured moments that they had witnessed in daily lives and presented them from their perspectives, using their own media of presentation. They address different topics in the living environment, daily items and the cities surrounding them. They zoom in on every mundane bit in their daily lives with their penetrating insights into the space they live in.

The term ‘Concrete Jungle’ may or may not sound familiar. All of us may somehow understand the term as a ‘forest of buildings’, but the nuance of the term may differ from person to person. The definition of ‘Concrete Jungle’ is ‘a city or urban area which has a high density of large, unattractive, modern buildings and is perceived as an unpleasant living environment’, which obviously sound negative. Nowadays, the term ‘Concrete Jungle’ is no longer common in the United States. However, at the same time, you may find trendy bars or fashion brands in Korea named as ‘Concrete Jungle’.

The peculiar ambiguity of the term probably comes from the coexisting positive and negative images of the words ‘Concrete’ and ‘Jungle’. Until the early 21st century, concrete still gave a negative image of an unattractive construction material, as it often symbolized a grey city that lacks uniqueness. However, as cement floors and walls, which maximize the modern and industrial elements of an interior design, have become a trend recently, concrete is no longer unattractive and needs not to be covered by wallpaper or paint.

Venue address: 6-7/F, Korean Cultural Center in Hong Kong, Block B, PMQ