Oh Dear Human

Featuring the works of artists Jerome, Regina Kim, Soryun Ahn, and Tong Wu, Oh Dear Human is a collaborative exploration of what it means to be human in contemporary society. Each artist investigates this theme through their own unique lens—engaging with the provocative, multi-layered sorrow, the persistent tensions, and the contradictions that emerge at the intersection of technology and humanity. Their works reflect a deep, often cynical insight, marked by an obsessive engagement with colour—an element that becomes symbolic of the psychological, conceptual, and aesthetic complexities of our time.

Through painting, sculpture, and drawing, the exhibition brings together a diverse group of artists whose practices capture emotionally charged and symbolically rich moments in their creative journeys. Oh Dear Human intertwines the dramatic, the painful, the humorous, and the surreal—offering a glimpse into social phenomena shaped by shifting environments, cultural origins, perceptions, identities, and lived experiences. It poses a central question: what does it mean to be human now? And how does artistic practice navigate this inquiry through intersectional, multidimensional approaches?
Within this framework:

Jerome (first image), a London-based artist, explores colour not merely as a visual element, but as a symbolic and emotional force—deeply tied to the formation of identity. His abstract paintings are vibrant and bold, evoking internal states and external realities through intuitive, immersive palettes.

Soryun Ahn (second image), also based in London, presents emotionally honest and introspective works that echo sorrow and frustration while navigating identity and belonging. “My work resonates with the questions I carry about home, identity, and the continuous movement between worlds. I try to depict the emotional and symbolic truth that lives in the space between reality and imagination.”

Tong Wu (third image), working between London and China, infuses his practice with a blend of cynicism and wit. His works often depict the passive gaze of the bystander and incorporate cartoonish gestures that belie deeper existential concerns. “Is this our self-portrait,” he asks, “among the contemporary issues we face today?”

Regina Kim (header image), a South Korean artist, interrogates the paradox of human transformation under the weight of technological mediation. Her work, The Edited Human, visualises how technology continuously reshapes us—reconfiguring our identities, fragmenting our bodies, and dulling our perceptions beneath glamorous algorithmic surfaces. “My work,” she writes, “visualises how technology continually reshapes us—fragmenting our identities and concealing reality beneath algorithmic imagery.”

The exhibition 'Oh Dear Human' explores the diverse conditions and phenomena that contemporary individuals inevitably confront and experience within the currents of today’s society. Through this exploration, the exhibition seeks to illuminate the characteristics of contemporary humanity in a more multifaceted and in-depth manner, offering new perspectives on the relationship between the individual and the society.

An artist talk and reception will take place on 10 October, from 6.30 pm to 8.30 pm. For enquiries, please contact marikim@gallerymplatform.com.